AIM Admission
Messaging International Plc
03 August 2005
Messaging International Plc / Market: AIM / Epic: MES / Sector: Technology
3 August 2005
Messaging International Plc
'First Day of Dealings on AIM'
Messaging International Plc ('Messaging International' or 'the Company'), the
100% owner of TeleMessage Limited - www.TeleMessage.com, an Israeli and US based
provider of innovative messaging services, is pleased to announce that its
shares began trading on AIM today. The Company raised £1.5 million through the
issue of 30 million shares at 5p giving it a market capitalisation of £5.77
million. The proceeds of the Placing will be used to reinforce its market
position in the Americas, develop sales and marketing internationally and
provide general working capital.
In essence, the Company has developed a comprehensive messaging software
platform that enables communication by messaging to and from any communication
device.
The market for multi platform messaging products is growing rapidly. A research
published by Forrester Research forecasts that by 2007 the US messaging market
alone will be worth US$6.4 billion (Sizing the US Mobile Messaging Market,
Forrester Research, Inc., July 30, 2004). Messaging International is
positioning itself to take advantage of this opportunity through its user
friendly products and by utilizing its managements proven skills in the
technology sector.
The Company offers messaging services and products that enable service
providers, enterprises and individuals to send, receive, and manage voice, text
and multimedia messages from various communication mediums - the Internet,
Microsoft Outlook, WAP-enabled devices or any fixed-line or mobile phone.
Multimedia messages can be sent to individuals or groups and to many
communication devices, including landline phone, mobile phone, fax, email, MMS,
SMS, Instant Messaging, and pager. Once these messages are received, they can be
replied to, or forwarded to, any communication medium.
Messaging International targets both individual and corporate customers. It
markets its products through service providers, corporates, and OEMs. So far it
has signed agreements with several service providers and a number of large
corporate clients. A further seven service providers have products on trial. The
Company's revenue comes from licensing fees to service providers and corporates
or through a revenue sharing agreement with the service provider (also available
on a hosted platform).
Messaging International has a positive sales pipeline, is debt free and has tax
losses of approximately £4 million.
Messaging International Chairman Horacio Furman said: 'We have developed what we
believe is the most comprehensive messaging platform that enables people to
adopt its applications to communicate easily with each other through most
communication devices, both old and new. We already have an extensive blue chip
client base and with further finance we aim to stay ahead of our competition and
take advantage of the incredible revenue potential in the sector.'
Additional information on Messaging International Plc
Messaging International's 100% owned subsidiary, TeleMessage Limited, was
founded in 1999 and has 24 employees and offices in the Boston area and Israel.
Over the past six years the Company received approximately $13.8 million
investments from a consortium of international venture capitalists. The funds
were used to finance the development of cross platform media messaging
management systems, to build a sales and marketing team and to secure the
initial client base and to support those clients.
The market opportunities lie in the continuous use of mature messaging
applications like voicemail, fax and email and the expanding interest and growth
of emerging end user messaging markets such as short message service ('SMS'),
email, Instant messaging ('IM') and multimedia messaging system ('MMS'). The
Company has developed systems that give a seamless exchange of all messaging
types across all platforms. The value of its technology and products resides in
the ability to harmonize various media platforms to act as a virtual seamless
messaging network across many technologies.
The Company has submitted a patent application that protects several aspects of
its technology so that users who receive an SMS or MMS via the Company's system
will be able to reply via one click to other devices. The growth in PC
penetration, internet and email use has created a demand for simple PC to
mobile, and email to mobile messaging tools and services. In addition, the
Messaging International has developed products that use technology which allows
traditional and emerging messaging applications to interact.
The two main products are SMS to Landline and Mail Plug-in:
•The SMS to Landline solution is designed to enable a user to send a text
message from their wireless phone to a landline phone. The software converts
the SMS to a voice message and plays it to the recipient. The recipient can
reply using their own voice. The reply is sent back to the original sender's
wireless phone as an SMS prompting the retrieval of the voice reply.
•Mail Plug-in enables the user to send emails to anyone on a range of
devices. It is as convenient to use as sending a regular email - the
difference is in that it enables the message to be delivered to SMS text
messages, MMS messages, landline phones and fax machines. It also allows the
receipt of notifications about new email and appointment reminders.
The highly respected Board and management team have many years experience
between them with proven track records in telecoms and finance:
•Horacio Furman, aged 58, Chairman, has been involved with the Company
since its creation. He has years of experience in the sales of
telecommunications technologies in China and Europe through his activity in
Estevan International Ltd., a telecoms equipment sales company and as
Executive Vice President for Projects at UDI, Inc., a trading company, where
he was head of the China operations. He is CEO of Prideway Holdings Ltd and
a director of Arba Finance Company Ltd, and Picom Software Systems Ltd. Mr
Furman was previously a director of the Israel Corporation (listed in
Israel).
•Guy Levit, aged 34, Chief Executive Officer, and founder member, has held
various sales, marketing and operational positions within the Company. Prior
to this, he was the head of the Planning and Development department of an
elite technical unit in the Intelligence corps of the Israeli Defence Force
(I.D.F). Previously Mr Levit was an engineer in the I.D.F R&D subdivision.
•Irvin Fishman, aged 55, Finance Director, qualified as a chartered
accountant in 1974 and has been a Partner in Auerbach Hope, Chartered
Accountants, since 1978. He held the position of Finance Director at
Entertainment Rights Plc, a fully quoted public company for several years
before more recently becoming a Non-Executive Director and Chairman of its
Audit Committee.
•David Rubner, aged 65, Non-Executive Director, is chairman and chief
executive officer of Rubner Technology Ventures Ltd. and partner in Hyperion
Israel Advisors Ltd., a venture capital firm. From 1991 to 2000, David was
president and chief executive officer of ECI Telecom Ltd. (NYSE: ECIL), one
of Israel's largest telecommunication equipment companies. Amongst other
directorships, he is also a director of Check Point Software Technologies
Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP)
•Geoffrey Simmonds FCA aged 62 Non-Executive is chief executive officer of
Westside Acquisitions and is non executive chairman of York Pharma plc, both
AIM traded companies as well as Reverse Takeover Investments. He qualified
as a Chartered Accountant in 1966 and has extensive involvement and
experience in corporate and strategic planning, acquisitions and finance.
•Other key management include Mark Carlin, Sales North America, who has
held various sales and marketing positions in large multi-national
companies; Gil Shapira, Vice President Business Development, who previously
served in the Israeli Air Force as a computer programmer, project manager
and team leader of a special R&D software development unit; and Benny
Bornfeld, VP Research and Development, who has over 13 years of experience
in designing, developing and delivering advanced software/hardware products.
* * ENDS * *
Contacts:
Guy Levit Messaging International plc Tel: 00 972 544 449 951
Isabel Crossley St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: 0044 (0) 20 7242 4477
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange