Acquisition of Communicast
Company
TIDM Headline Released Number |
WILink Acquires Communicast Inc.
Vcall Webcasting and Web Conferencing Business Expands with US Acquisition
WILink plc, a worldwide provider of online investor relations services and
web-based communications solutions, announces today the acquisition of
Communicast Inc., a leading web conferencing and webcasting provider located in
Herndon, Virginia.
Established in 1999, Communicast provides managed web conferencing and
webcasting solutions to clients including Eli Lilly, Intel, Computer
Associates, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the American Marketing Association.
Communicast's sales revenue has grown in excess of 35% per annum over the past
four years and is the top privately held company in the US e presentation
market (Source: Collaborative Strategies). In the year to 30 September 2004
Communicast generated an unaudited loss of $15,000. Net assets at 30 September
were $95,000.
Terms of the acquisition, which is expected to enhance earnings in 2005,
include an initial consideration of $3.25 million, consisting of $2.3m payable
in cash and the transfer of 166,596 WILink shares from Treasury to the vendors
on completion of the deal, and additional consideration payable subject to an
earn-out after one year with a maximum aggregate consideration of $7 million.
At the time of the announcement of WILink's interim results for the six months
to 30 June 2004 we reported that Vcall webcasting and web conferencing revenues
grew 56% (+75% at constant exchange rates) compared with the first half of
2003, driven partly by non-Investor Relations (IR) corporate sales in the US.
WILink's strategy is to build on this success and leverage our proven track
record in the investor relations area and provide services to the non-IR
functions of our 3,500 corporate clients. We intend to grow Vcall organically
and by carefully selected acquisitions, of which Communicast is the first.
Worldwide, according to Frost & Sullivan estimates, the total corporate
web-conferencing market is currently worth about $600 million and is forecast
to grow at between 25% and 30% per annum over the next six years to $3 billion
in 2010.
Dale Coyner, co-founder and CTO of Communicast, stated, 'We are impressed with
VCall's capabilities and are very excited to be a part of WILink's future. This
combination gives us the opportunity to increase our level of service to
existing clients and reach new clients who can utilise our full-featured, easy
to use web conferencing tools - no matter how large the audience or complex the
environment.'
Commenting on the acquisition, Peter Wakeham, CEO of WILink, said:
'I am delighted to announce this acquisition which matches our stated strategy
to use additional investments in sales, marketing and technology resources to
accelerate expansion of our rapidly growing Vcall webcasting business into new
corporate communications segments.
'The acquisition of Communicast will allow us to introduce a greater range of
web event solutions to over 3,500 existing corporate clients, many of which
already use Vcall for communications within their investor relations
activities. The acquisition, which is expected to enhance earnings in 2005,
further reduces our dependence on retail investor activity.'
WILink plc
Peter Wakeham, Chief Executive Officer +44 (0) 20 7436 2403
Nigel Burton, Chief Financial Officer +44 (0) 77 8523 4447
Capital MS&L
Steffan Williams or Nick Lockwood +44 (0) 20 7878 3181
About WILink
WILink plc (www.wilink.com) provides online Investor Relations and web based
communications solutions. Since 1989, WILink has helped clients such as Hewlett
Packard, Deutsche Telecom and BP improve the effectiveness of their investor
communications. WILink's services include PrecisionIR(tm) (www.precisionir.com)
and PrecisionFM(tm) (www.precisionfm.com) investor-communication programmes that
enable publicly traded companies and mutual funds to deliver compelling
communications to a targeted audience of investors. WILink's Vcall® (
www.Vcall.com) webcasting provides innovative technology and professional
service that enables organisations to create compelling and influential web
presentations.
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