Velocity Comp Regulatory News (VEL)

23 Mar 2007 07:01

Velti PLC23 March 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, 23 March 2007 VELTI ACQUIRES BULGARIA's LEADING MOBILE SERVICES PROVIDER LONDON - Velti plc ("Velti" or "the company"), a leading provider of softwareplatforms, applications and services for advertising agencies and mobileoperators, has agreed to acquire a 100% interest in M-Telecom OOD ("M-Telecom")for a total consideration of between €1.01 million and €2.56 million dependingon M-Telecom achieving certain profitability targets for 2007 and 2008. Thetotal consideration will be calculated at a multiple of 4.5 times EBITDA. Theinitial consideration of €0.48 million will be satisfied in cash on completionand the remaining payment will be made in cash or Velti ordinary shares (at thecompany's discretion) by 30 May 2009. M-Telecom is the leading independent mobile value added services provider inBulgaria with an estimated market share of approximately 40%. Its productoffering includes mobile marketing and content services. M-Telecom's largestcustomer is M-Tel, Bulgaria's leading mobile network operator. The acquisitionof M-Telecom complements Velti's existing relationship with COSMOTE which ownsGlobul, Bulgaria's second largest mobile network operator. M-Tel and Globulaccount for approximately 90% of the Bulgarian mobile market. For the year ended 31 December 2005, the latest published statutory accounts,M-Telecom generated revenues of approximately €580,000 and EBITDA ofapproximately €100,000. For the year ended 31 December 2006, management accountsshow that M-Telecom generated revenues of approximately €770,000. The companyexpects that M-Telecom will make a positive contribution to earnings per sharefor 2007 and 2008 on a fully diluted basis. The acquisition of M-Telecom establishes Velti's leadership position in theBulgarian mobile value added services and mobile marketing market, providingVelti with the opportunity to generate additional revenue by selling its mobileplatforms to Bulgarian mobile network operators and advertising agencies. Thetop management of M-Telecom, including Mr Stoytcho Vlaykov (Managing Director),a former Mobile executive for Yahoo, will remain with the company for a minimumof two years. Stoytcho Vlaykov, Managing Director of M-Telecom, commented: "I am very excitedthat M-Telecom is joining forces with Velti, and we look forward to jointlyserving mobile customers and operators in Bulgaria, providing premium mobileservices and content." Alexandros Moukas, Chief Executive of Velti, commented: "This is a focusedacquisition for Velti establishing us in Bulgaria in line with our statedstrategy. M-Telecom is the leading Mobile Value-Added Services provider inBulgaria with a respected management team and will enable us to grow rapidly andprofitably in that market." CONTACTS Bankside: 020-7367-8888Simon Bloomfield or Andy Harris About Velti Velti is a leading platforms and service provider that enables mobile marketing,content and value added services. Velti works with mobile operators, advertisingagencies and media to deliver value added services. Founded in 2000, Velti has offices in London, New York, Boston and Athens and isalready serving more than 100 corporate customers in 9 countries includingVodafone, Orange, COSMOTE, TIM, Q-Telecom, OTE, Turkcell, Verizon / Maxpreps andArgos among others. Velti is a publicly traded company listed on the LondonStock Exchange (AIM) with strong growth in revenue and profits and currentlyemploys more than 180 people, including more than 110 technology staff. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange