Acquisition and Contract
Rank Group PLC
27 June 2003
27 June 2003
THE RANK GROUP PLC
DELUXE MEDIA STRENGTHENS ITS POSITION IN DVD
The Rank Group ('Rank' or the 'Group') is pleased to announce that through its
subsidiary, Deluxe Global Media Services Inc. ('DGMS'), it has agreed to acquire
Disctronics, one of the largest independent DVD and CD replicators in Europe,
for a total consideration of £34.1m, including debt of £14.5m and working
capital of £5.2m. Of the cash consideration of £14.4m, £7.9m will be paid on
completion and the balance paid by 2005. The acquisition is conditional on
competition clearances and is expected to complete in July 2003. In the year to
30 June 2002, Disctronics generated total revenues of £61.7m and EBITDA of £8.1m
of which DVD generated £1.7m. Net assets of the Group as at 30 June 2002 were
£14.5m.
The acquisition of Disctronics follows the formation of the venture with Ritek
Corporation in August 2002 and consolidates Deluxe's position as one of the
world's leading independent DVD manufacturers, now with total capacity of over
200m discs per annum. In addition to enhancing its DVD presence, the acquisition
of Disctronics also provides Deluxe with a profitable CD business, which has
contracts with a number of major customers, including Universal Music, with
which it has a multi-year contract.
Separately, Deluxe is also pleased to announce that it has entered into a new
multi-year VHS and DVD contract with Universal. Under the terms of the contract,
Deluxe will produce all of Universal's VHS, including production in Europe for
the first time, plus 20% of Universal's DVD volumes for both the United States
and International. Other DVD customers already include Fox International and
Columbia.
Mike Smith, Chief Executive of Rank, said:
'This transaction achieves our objective of putting Deluxe into the top tier of
DVD suppliers by expanding our capability in Europe. Disctronics is recognised
as a quality service provider in the European optical disc arena with a proven
history of profitability and reliable service. By integrating its manufacturing
capability with our existing supply chain infrastructure, we will enhance our
ability to meet the evolving needs of our customers.'
Enquiries:
The Rank Group
Ian Dyson, Finance Director Tel: 020 7535 8013
Peter Reynolds, Director of Investor Relations Tel: 020 7535 8031
Press Enquiries:
The Maitland Consultancy Tel: 020 7379 5151
Angus Maitland
Suzanne Bartch
NOTES FOR EDITORS
Information on Disctronics
Disctronics Limited has four production facilities. In the UK, audio and ROM CDs
are produced at Blackburn in the North of England, a facility which was acquired
from Universal Music in June 2002, and at Southwater, near Crawley in Sussex.
Southwater also manufactures all of Disctronics' DVDs. In the eight months to
February 2003, these two facilities represented over 80% of Disctronics' total
revenues. There are also two facilities in continental Europe, one near Toulouse
in France and the other in Milan, Italy. Both these facilities are relatively
small and produce audio CDs and CD-ROMs for computer games customers and
internet service providers.
Information on Deluxe Media Services
Deluxe Global Media Services ('DGMS'), the venture with Ritek Corporation, is
part of Deluxe Media Services ('Deluxe'), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Rank
Group Plc, offering a broad range of entertainment industry services and
technologies to an international client base. Services include large volume DVD
and videocassette manufacturing, packaging and distribution, digital media asset
and fulfilment services, content repurposing and conversion for the television
industry and motion picture film laboratory services. Deluxe has manufacturing
facilities in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, The Netherlands,
Portugal, Sweden and Italy. In the year to December 2002, Deluxe replicated 69m
DVDs and 224 VHS and distributed 171m DVDs and 272m VHS on behalf of its
customers. For more information, please visit www.bydeluxe.com or call + 1
818-525-2100.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange