Trading Update
April 17 2003 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
RNS Number:1422K
Medal Entertainment & Media PLC
17 April 2003
Strictly embargoed until 07.00, 17 April 2003
MEDAL ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA PLC
RESULT OF WARRANT EXERCISE AND TRADING UPDATE
Warrant exercise
Medal Entertainment & Media plc ("MEM" or "the Company") announces the number of
Warrants which have been exercised by the Warrantholders in accordance with
their Revised Terms following the expiry of the exercise period at 4.30 p.m. on
Wednesday 16 April 2003.
Following approval given by Shareholders and Warrantholders in separate general
meetings on 5 March 2003, the Warrants became exercisable in accordance with
their Revised Terms until 4.30 p.m. on 16 April 2003. By 4.30 p.m. yesterday,
7,343,310 Warrants had been exercised in accordance with their Revised Terms
resulting in the issue of 1,468,662 new Ordinary Shares raising #146,866 for the
Company. The 7,343,310 Warrants exercised represent 79.7 per cent. of the total
number of Warrants exercisable. The 1,468,662 new Ordinary Shares issued
represent 13.8 per cent. of the enlarged issued share capital of the Company.
The Company will apply to the London Stock Exchange for the 1,468,662 new
Ordinary Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM and it is expected that such
admission will become effective by Monday 28 April 2003. Share certificates will
be despatched and CREST accounts will be credited, as appropriate, in accordance
with the procedures set out in Appendices 2 and 3 respectively of the Circular.
In accordance with their Revised Terms, the Warrants cease to trade on AIM as of
8.00 a.m. today and all outstanding Warrants have been cancelled.
Pursuant to the exercise of outstanding Warrants held by directors of MEM, the
following directors have acquired Ordinary Shares in the Company at a price of
10p each and now have the following beneficial holdings:
Director Holding before Shares acquired Total share % of enlarged
exercise pursuant to holding share capital
warrant following
exercise warrant
exercise
Brook Land 71,429 14,285 85,714 0.81 %
Steve Ayres 250,000 50,000 300,000 2.83 %
Mariana Spater 13,371 - - 0.13 %
Brian Harris 35,714 - - 0.34 %
Richard Murray 107,143 21,428 128,571 1.21 %
Christopher 71,439 14,287 85,726 0.81 %
Stainforth
Trading update
The Directors are also pleased to announce that the Group has made significant
progress at both its Leisureview and Fountain Studios subsidiaries since the
announcement of its interim results for the period ended 30 September 2002.
Results for the year ended 31 March 2003 are expected to be in line with market
expectations.
Notable achievements at Leisureview, MEM's video distribution arm, include:
* acquiring the exclusive video and DVD rights to the hit US TV show
Lizzie McGuire, produced by Disney and starring Hilary Duff, for all territories
outside the USA for a period of five years;
* sole distribution rights to the National Geographic video and DVD
library in the UK and Eire, across all markets including retail and direct
marketing; and
* exclusive direct marketing rights to the Carlton TV and film library,
through a recently announced deal signed with Carlton Visual Entertainment.
Notable achievements at Fountain Studios, MEM's TV studio facility, include:
* four series all produced at Fountain in 2002/3 were nominated for the
recently held BAFTA awards: Pop Idol (Thames TV), Test the Nation (Talent TV),
The Kumar's at No 42 (Hat Trick) and Bremner, Bird and Fortune (Vera
Productions);
* a strong order book with many of these and other productions set to
return to Fountain during 2003 and early 2004; and
* a busy forward schedule including long established clients such as
Celador Productions and GMG Endemol as well as new clients using Fountain for
the first time.
Steve Ayres, Chief Executive of MEM, commented: "The Directors are pleased to
have removed the potential dilutory effect of the outstanding Warrants as they
believed that it had served to depress the Company's share price and may have
impacted on the Company's ability to raise further finance or make acquisitions
in pursuit of its stated growth strategy. The Directors are encouraged by the
level of take-up of the Warrants at 79.7 per cent. of the total number of
Warrants.
"Since the acquisition of Leisureview and Fountain in August 2002, the Board has
worked hard to implement new working practices in the acquired businesses and
has created a platform to drive the future growth of the Group.
"The licensing and distribution deals we have already signed are a reflection of
the quality of the management team at Leisureview and I am delighted to report
that Fountain's prospects for the current year are promising. I look forward to
reporting the Company's financial performance for the year ended 31 March 2003
by the end of June 2003 and am confident that we are on track to meet current
market expectations."
For further information, please contact:
Steve Ayres, Chief Executive John West / Claire Melly
MEM plc Tavistock Communications Limited
Tel: 020 8427 2277 Tel: 020 7600 2288
Words and expressions defined in the Circular have the same meaning when used in
this announcement.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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