4th Dec 2006 07:00
Interactive World plc04 December 2006 RNS Release 4 December 2006 Acquisition of a majority holding in Strictly Broadband Ltd ('ITW' or 'The Company') Interactive World Plc (AIM: ITW), the digital content technology company, ispleased to announce that it has increased its stake in Strictly Broadband Ltd('SB') to 55.5%, an increase of 39.5% over its original 16% holding. StrictlyBroadband is a profitable Video-on-Demand (VoD) specialist with a database ofover 200,000 registered users. The Company has agreed a total consideration of £264,750 of which £158,000 iscash and the balance in new ITW shares to be issued at a price of 79.4 pence pershare, credited as fully paid, based on the average closing mid price over thelast five preceding trading days. Strictly Broadband Ltd has developed an internet-based VoD platform that can beused on its own or in future with Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), atechnology which Interactive World believes will be increasingly important toits revenue streams going forward. Registered users of Strictly Broadband can watch a library of over 300 filmtitles on a private network with Digital Rights Management (DRM) preventingcopying and downloading. SB's proprietary streaming technology allows users towatch, play or pause films at their own convenience. The technology can also be used for any form of video content, including musicor sport. Indeed, steps are already underway to broaden the range of contentoffered. In particular, the rights to classic boxing matches have recently beenacquired and other sporting rights are being assessed. In addition to direct-to-consumer products, Strictly Broadband Ltd has created a'white label' service to video content owners who wish to offer their productson an 'on demand' basis to their customer base. ITW has acquired the shares from nine existing SB shareholders including JeremyBarnett, Strictly Broadband's founder and Managing Director. Jeremy Barnett hassigned a service agreement with Strictly Broadband and will continue to lead SB. Rob Johnson, CEO of Interactive World, will receive from ITW £20,000 in cash and9445 Interactive World shares at 79.4 pence per share for his entire interest of10 shares in Strictly Broadband. Interactive World has also agreed an option to acquire SB's remaining 45.5%issued share capital between the second and fifth anniversaries of the deal.This option will be exercised entirely at the discretion of the directors ofInteractive World, who have agreed a strike price for the shares valued on afixed multiple based on SB's future profits. Interactive World will be using its own marketing experience and infrastructureto expand sales of SB's content, as well as adding new content that broadens theutilisation of SB's VoD technology. Rob Johnson, CEO of Interactive World, said: "This deal increases our expertise in digital streaming, particularly in thefast emerging IPTV market, which is an increasingly popular way of watchingtelevision programmes over the internet. Of course, there are other benefitsfrom this deal, including the purchase of a large database and the ability tooffer new content to our existing customers." Enquiries: Interactive World 020 8507 6920Rob Johnson, Chief ExecutiveAndrew Fletcher, Finance Director Gresham PR Ltd 020 7404 9000Neil Boom Information on Interactive World can be accessed via the Group's website:www.interactiveworld.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
SPMG.L