LONDON (Thomson Financial) - YooMedia PLC has conditionally agreed to take
95.2 pct stake in Spain's Fresh Interactive Technologies and said it proposes to
raise about 12.9 mln stg after a share consolidation and restructuring.
The interactive media and games group also said it is proposing to settle
sums due to two of its lenders, Highbridge International LLC and Platinum Value
Arbitrage Fund and fees due to directors.
Of the 12.9 mln stg, the company is raising 8.6 mln in a placing at 1.10 stg
per share, the majority of which it expects to go to current investor Kasei
2000. Kasei could end up with 43 pct in the company after the placing and
Yoomedia said, if it does, it has agreed to waive the obligation it would be
under to make an offer for the company.
The board is also in negotiations with an unrelated third party which make
participate in the placing and if these negoations are successful Kasei's stake
will only increase to under 30 pct.
A further sum of some 4.3 mln stg will be raised through an investment in
Fresh by Baring Private Equity España which is to be completed before the
purchase of the 95.2 pct in Fresh by the company.
Yoomedia said it will use these funds to strengthen the group's balance
sheet, to provide working capital, to invest in new products and services as
well as assist in financing the group's proposed international expansion. It is
also proposed to change the name of the company following the completion of the
transactions to Mirada plc.
Yoomedia is also planning a senior management shake-up. The chief executive
of Fresh Interactive, Jose-Luis Vazquez, will become the group CEO, while
current Yoomedia managing director Neil McDonald will be appointed chief
operating officer.
The group also commented on current trading. It said that since it released
results for the first half, trading has not improved enough to achieve positive
underlying pretax in the full year.
The company is also planning to sell Yoomedia Dating group for 250,000 stg
in cash. YooMedia Dating, which trades under the brand name Dateline, operates
an online and offline dating business, is currently loss making and has seven
employees.
TFN.newsdesk@thomson.com
ukn/slm
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