24th May 2007 12:41
Origo Sino-India PLC24 May 2007 May 24, 2007 ORIGO CONTINUES PORTFOLIO DEVELOPMENT Issues convertible note to Spiced Bits Ltd Origo Sino-India PLC ("Origo")(LSE:OSI), the investment and strategic advisorycompany focused on the private equity markets of China and India,announced today that it has extended a convertible note of US$80,000 to SpicedBits Ltd ("Spiced Bits" or "the Company"), a company in which Origo is alreadyan early stage strategic shareholder with 40% of the equity. Spiced Bits is a Beijing based provider of 3D mobile application and graphicsoutsourcing services. The Company's clients include international mobile serviceproviders, media houses, and application developers in need of high quality,reliable outsourced application development. This bridge financing will be disbursed in one installment as working capital to enable Spiced Bits to take on more projects. The note is repayable in full in the event of a financing round or convertible into equity at the discretion of Origo at a 50% discount to the then applicable price per share. This announcement follows the appointment of Mr. Bao Song as CTO and Director of Spiced Bits. Bao Song joins the Company from GameLoft, a leading international publisher and developer of video games for mobile phones, where he was the founder and CEO of GameLoft China. In that position, he built GameLoft's presence in China from formation to 400 developers over some 4 years. The issue of this convertible loan brings the amount of equity linked notes issued by Origo to its portfolio since its IPO in December 2006 to just below US$2,000,000. The value of equity commitments made since that date currently stands at US$8,500,000. Are Mack Growen, CEO of Spiced Bits, commented: "The backing of Origo and the arrival of Bao Song are both strong votes of confidence in our business model and growth prospects. Origo's injection of working capital will allow us to maintain our strategy which is to build the mobile outsourcing partner of choice in China." Origo's CEO, Chris Rynning, said: "Spiced Bits is one of our key early stage development investments. The Company has the best of two worlds: western trained management coupled with a skilled team of Chinese software engineers. China is an emerging destination for mobile outsourcing services and we are confident that Spiced Bit is poised to grow faster than the market." END For further information please call: Christopher Joll/Tim McCall, MJ2 020 7491 7776 Notes to Editors 1. Origo Sino-India plc ("Origo"): • Origo is an established and profitable private equity investor and strategic consultancy business, which provides its shareholders with exposure to growth opportunities and private equity returns in China and India. • Origo's business model is to generate capital gains from private equity investment in growth companies from which it also generates fees for consultancy services related to further fundraisings, M&A and strategic development. • Origo is aligned with two major institutions which provide a source of high quality deal flow. In China, Origo work closely with China Equity, a leading private equity firm, whose chief executive is on Origo's board. In India, Origo has entered into a memorandum of understanding with SBI Capital Markets, one of longest established companies in the Indian Capital Markets. A former chairman of SBI is on the board of Origo. • Origo has signed agreements with 4 Chinese companies and 7 Indian companies to provide both financing and advisory services and more than 20 potential investments in the pipeline. • At the AIM Placing in December 2006 Origo raised £12.8 million gross of new money via a placing of 25,673,238 Ordinary Shares at 50 pence per share. Each Ordinary Share carries a Warrant exercisable at 55p. Seymour Pierce Ltd is the nominated adviser and broker. 2. Spiced Bits Ltd ("Spiced Bits "): • Spiced Bits Limited is a mobile application development company with a proven technical team and track record of delivering customized outsourcing solutions. Spiced Bits provides outsourcing services with primary focus on mobile service applications in the JAVA (J2ME) programming language. Spiced Bits' clients include digital service providers, media and product companies in international markets with a need for high quality, reliable outsourced mobile application development. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
OPP.L