Acquisition
OMG PLC
27 May 2004
OMG plc ('OMG' or 'the Company')
Acquisition of House of Moves - Hollywood based motion capture studio
OMG, a leading supplier of motion capture and visual geometry systems used for
life sciences, entertainment and engineering applications, announced today that
it has acquired the business and assets of House of Moves LLC ('HOM'), for a
consideration comprising:
•initial consideration of £565,000 in cash, and
•965,927 ordinary OMG shares to be issued after one year
subject to financial performance, and
•additional deferred consideration in cash and shares of up to £1.1m
linked to achievement of substantial growth in both revenues and operating
profits over a two year period.
Based in the centre of the movie and game production district of Los Angeles,
California, HOM is one of the leading independent motion capture studios and has
extensive experience of major Hollywood film productions including Titanic,
television programmes, commercials, games titles and music videos. Regular
customers include: Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony
Pictures Imageworks, Digital Domain and other leading film producers and game
developers.
The acquisition coincides with HOM expanding into a new 12,000 square foot
facility to create the world's largest dedicated motion capture studio. This
will provide a showcase for the latest technology and motion capture techniques
and the opportunity for closer collaboration and development of new products
aimed at the entertainment sector.
In addition to the provision of services, HOM has developed DIVA, a motion
capture workflow animation software product, now used by leading movie and games
development companies including Industrial Light + Magic, Sony Pictures
Imageworks and Sony Computer Entertainment.
For the twelve months ended 31 December 2003, HOM had revenues of £1,125,000 and
a profit before tax of £25,000. As at 31 December 2003, HOM's net assets were
£16,000.
Julian Morris, CEO, commented: 'House of Moves is both geographically and by
reputation at the heart of the global entertainment industry. For OMG this
acquisition is a highly significant diversification into the service sector of
this market. It extends Vicon's dominance of motion capture all the way from the
design and manufacture of high-performance cameras to the production of
animation and visual effects.'
For further information please contact:
Julian Morris, Chief Executive, julian.morris@omg3d.com
Peter Wharton, Finance Director, peter.wharton@omg3d.com
Tel: 01865 261800
Tim Thompson / Tom Carroll
Buchanan Communications
Tel: 020 7466 5000
27 May 2004
About House of Moves
House of Moves, best-known for its motion capture work on such films as The
Patriot and Titanic, as well as hundreds of interactive games is headquartered
in Los Angeles, CA. The company pioneered use of motion capture technology to
depict photo-real virtual characters on screen in the groundbreaking hit
'Titanic' working together with client Digital Domain. House of Moves has since
worked on many major feature films including Spiderman, Men In Black II, and
Anger Management, and continues to have an ongoing pipeline of games in
production, most recently working on GoldenEye 2, EverQuest II and Red Dead
Revolver. In addition to its 12,000 square-foot studio, HOM boasts a full-time
professional staff of 13 motion capture experts, animators, programmers and
engineers, together with a network of industry professionals who perform
services on a contract basis, offering support for all digital motion formats.
The company was founded in 1996, for more information visit www.moves.com or
call +1 (310) 306-6131.
About OMG
OMG plc (LSE: OMG) trades through operating subsidiaries in the name of VICON
Motion Systems in the UK and USA and through a network of distributors in other
major companies. OMG subsidiary 2d3 Limited produces innovative visual geometry
software deriving 3D data from moving images. Since 1984, VICON has been
providing professionals with the latest tools to accurately capture the
subtleties of three-dimensional human motion for research, life science, sport,
engineering, game development, broadcast and film. For more information about
OMG, or it subsidiaries, visit www.omg3d.com, www.vicon.com, or www.2D3.com.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange