Hong Kong, December 19, 2000----TOM.COM LIMITED ("TOM.COM" or "TOM") announced today it has added another valuable outdoor media asset onto its established cross media platform through acquiring the entire issued share capital and interest in shareholder's loan of T Advertising Limited ("T Advertising"). TOM has entered into a share purchase agreement with Marvel Path Limited ("Marvel Path") to purchase T Advertising which will in turn own 50% equity interest in Shanghai Maya Cultural Transmission Company Limited ("Maya Cultural"), an outdoor advertising company in Shanghai. Marvel Path is indirectly owned as to 40% by Hutchison Whampoa Limited, 20% by Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited and 40% by Cranwood Company Limited.
According to the agreement, TOM.COM acquires 100% issued shared capital and interest in shareholder's loan in T Advertising at a total consideration of US$21.97 million (approximately HK$171.37 million), payable by the issuance of 31,100,908 TOM shares at HK$5.51 per share. Such shares represent approximately 0.98% of the existing capital and approximately 0.97% of the enlarged capital. The acquisition constitutes a connected and discloseable transaction of TOM under the GEM listing rules and is therefore conditional upon independent shareholders' approval.
Maya Cultural owns a unique and premium inventory of outdoor media assets in Shanghai. These unique advertising channels include around 4,000 units of bicycle shelter advertising space in both residential and commercial districts and over 1,200 units "110" police reporting light boxes (total advertising space around 8,500 square meters). The company plans to establish the largest outdoor media network in Shanghai and expand into other major cities including Beijing, Dalian, Chengdu, Shenzhen and Jilin.
"Maya Cultural is more than an added media to our array of online and offline media assets. In addition to Maya Online, Maya Cultural will enhance our presence in Shanghai, gaining further inroads in the city's advertising market where its flourishing business activities present great commercial needs for various advertising services," said Sing Wang, CEO and Executive Director of TOM.COM LIMITED.
"Using TOM shares as our acquisition currency once again demonstrates the confidence our business partners have on our stock market value and TOM's business prospect," added Mr Wang.
"These strong advertising properties offer us distinct advantage and at the same time add further strength to the existing outdoor media network already represented by our interest in Kunming Fench Star Information Industry Limited. We are best positioned to strengthen our foothold as a leading media group in China's huge advertising market," said Mr Wang.
China's robust advertising market is estimated to top US$6 billion in 2002. Outdoor advertising, representing around 10% of the total market value, records a compound annual growth rate of 21% over the past five years.
Incorporating Maya Cultural's media assets as part of its cross media offerings, TOM.COM will leverage its significant customer base and established media network to generate additional revenue for Maya Cultural while at the same time bring in additional commission income for TOM.
Mr Wang explained that with TOM's full-fledged media network behind, coupled with TOM's financial support and strong brand equity, it can accelerate Maya Cultural's business objective to establish the largest outdoor advertising network in Shanghai and beyond to other major cities of Mainland China. He said that the acquisition is another manifestation of TOM's strategic convergence of different media play.
About TOM.COM
Founded in October 1999 and an associate of Hutchison Whampoa Limited, TOM.COM LIMITED is a joint venture formed by Hutchison Whampoa Limited, Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited and other strategic investors. The Company was listed on the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in March 2000. Targeted at Chinese-speaking and global audiences to "Bring China to the World and the World to China", TOM.COM LIMITED is building a multi-lingual mega portal to offer the most comprehensive China-related infotainment content. Headquartered in Hong Kong, TOM.COM has established strong presence in Beijing and Shanghai. TOM.COM can be found on the Web at WWW.TOM.COM.
About Maya Cultural
Established in 1999, Maya Cultural is an outdoor advertising company while also serves as an advertising agency for Maya Group's chain of audio shops. The company has completed the construction of various outdoor media assets which are expected to generate revenue in the first quarter of 2001. These premium assets include around 4,000 units of bicycle shelter advertising space in both residential and commercial districts and over 1,200 units "110" police reporting light boxes (total advertising space around 8,500 square meters), both unique outdoor media assets in Shanghai. The company plans to establish the largest outdoor network in Shanghai and expand into other major cities including Beijing, Dalian, Chengdu, Shenzhen and Jilin. The projected revenue for 2001 is approximately RMB58.6 million.
Press enquiries:-Rachel Chan, TOM.COM LIMITED; Tel: 2121 7810; Fax: 2127 7576
e-mail: rachelc@hk.tom.com
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