PMG announces JV and issue of equity
26 April 2012
Parallel Media Group PLC
("PMG" or the "Company")
K-pop joint venture and issue of equity
PMG, the AIM quoted sports media and digital agency, is pleased to announce
that Parallel Smart Media Asia Alpha Entertainment Pte Limited ("PSMAA"), a
newly incorporated company 50% owned by Parallel Smart Media Asia Pte. Ltd, has
entered into an agreement with CJ E&M to bring Korean Pop ("K-pop"), the highly
successful Asian music genre, to Singapore.
CJ E&M, which is listed on the Korean Stock Exchange, is a leading Korean media
and entertainment company, focusing on broadcasting, movies, game development,
and music and concert businesses. It has a market capitalisation of
approximately KRW 1.0 trillion (£540m) and revenues in 2011 of KRW 1.14
trillion (£620m).
This new joint venture continues PMG's expansion into Asia. Following the
establishment of Singapore-based PSMA in March of this year, PMG's strategy is
to promote the K-pop genre initially by arranging three concerts - for the
artists Shinwha, Wonder Girls and 2pm. The chance to partner with CJ E&M on
delivering these concerts is a unique opportunity for PSMAA.
PSMAA is a 50/50 joint venture between Parallel Smart Media Asia Pte. Ltd
("PSMA") and the Singapore and Korea based HW Alpha PTE Ltd. PSMA is 51% owned
by PMG.
The Company also announces it has conditionally placed 1,430,000 shares at 35p
per share with Mr. Henry Wee to raise SGD 1,000,000 (approximately £500,000)
(the "New Ordinary Shares"). Mr. Wee has been granted an option to subscribe
for a further 1,430,000 shares at 35p, valid for 18 months. Mr. Wee, a major
shareholder in HW Alpha PTE Ltd, was formerly a banker in an international bank
in Singapore. Some £300,000 (SGD 600,000) of the proceeds will be loaned to
PSMAA for working capital.
Application will be made for admission of the New Ordinary Shares to trading on
AIM ("Admission"). Admission is expected to occur on or around 2 May 2012. The
New Ordinary Shares will rank pari passu with the existing ordinary shares.
Following Admission, there will be 22,912,346 ordinary shares in issue. This
number may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the
calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their
interest in, or a change in their interest in, the share capital of the
Company.
David Ciclitira, Chairman of PMG says:
"We are very pleased to continue our expansion into Asia with PSMAA, which will
initially deliver three K-pop concerts in Singapore in 2012. As our Parallel
Smart Media division is relatively new, we see this as significant progress.
The artist Shinwa recently sold out their come back concert in 40 minutes
generating KRW 2 billion (£1.1m) in income. We look forward to expanding in
2013 with CJ K-pop concerts into other Asian territories."
"This is a very exciting time for PMG especially as it is the week of The
Ballantine's Championship, Korea's number one golf tournament."
-End-
For further information, please contact:
Parallel Media Group plc 020 7225 2000
David Ciclitira
Northland Capital Partners Limited 020 7796 8800
Luke Cairns, Edward Hutton
Novus Capital Markets Limited 020 7107 1881
Nicholas Lee
Bishopsgate Communications 020 7562 3350
Deepali Schneider, Lynne Goulding
pmg@bishopsgatecommunications.com
Notes to Editors:
About PMG and PMSA
Parallel Media Group plc (PMG) is a leading sports marketing, media and event
management company, which has been involved in a diverse range of projects from
sports to music. Parallel Smart Media, PMG's digital arm brings innovative
digital solutions to the sport and entertainment world. Parallel Smart Media
Asia (PMSA) is 51% owned by PMGand operates from PMG's new office in Singapore.
About K-pop
Korean Pop (K-pop) is a musical genre consisting of pop, dance, electropop, hip
hop, rock, R&B, electronic music, and has become one of South Korea's most
notable exports in recent years. Its audience is largely female, from early
teens through to late 20s. It has been making inroads into Europe, an expansion
that has been noticed by the big corporations, such as iTunes, which started
selling K-pop to European audiences early in 2010, and Google which is planning
to set up a K-pop channel.