Boom Extreme Publishing acqui

RNS Number : 9293Y

Boomerang Plus PLC

14 September 2009

 



Date:                               14 September 2009

On behalf of:                   Boomerang Plus plc ('Boomerang' or 'the Group') 

Embargoed until:            0700hrs 

Boomerang Plus plc 

Boom Extreme Publishing acquires Method 

Boomerang Plus plc (AIM: BOOM.L), a multi-genre, independent television production group and leading producer of advertiser funded programming ('AFP') and extreme sports content, is pleased to announce that its newly created subsidiary, Boom Extreme Publishing, has acquired Method, a multimedia publisher offering snowboarding news and action across print, motion, audio and interactive platforms.  

Boomerang has recognised the synergies between the financial model for publishing and digital media and the AFP model. Boom Extreme Publishing's objective is to seek opportunities with key publishing brands, help drive and develop multimedia concepts and build a digital media portfolio within the extreme sports space using the Group's existing infrastructure and expertise. Boomerang is best known in the extreme sports arena for its award winning network show Freesports on 4 and Big Freeze Ltd, a joint venture with Channel 4 to produce Freeze, the annual snowboarding championship festival at Battersea Power Station being held from 30 October to 1 November this year.

Method is Europe's most successful and progressive snowboard magazine, supported by a website, www.methodmag.com, and an online TV channel, Method.TV which has had more than 2 million video views since it was launched in October 2006. The three-dimensional product provides a multimedia platform for the ultimate snowboarding experience. The team at Method has an incomparable passion for snowboarding and is exceptionally well known in the industry having been immersed within the sport for over 15 years.

Boom Extreme Publishing appointed Luke Broadhurst as a consultant on the Method acquisition. Luke has extensive media sector experience in launching new businesses, developing concepts, and driving revenue growth. Luke will continue to advise Boom Extreme Publishing as its portfolio grows. 

As an acquired entity of Boom Extreme Publishing, Method will be injected with the business acumen, support and direction it requires from Boomerang with a view to advance growth and capitalise on opportunities within the digital media market. Method will also provide an additional platform for Boomerang's high quality snowboarding content, including output from Freeze, and provide an additional revenue stream to the Group as a whole. 

Gareth Rees, Executive Director of Boomerang Plus plc, said: 

"We are extremely pleased to welcome Method as part of our Group. It is one of the most credible brands in the European extreme sports scene and we are very excited to bring publishing and TV together to take advantage of new media platforms.

"The Group sees this acquisition as a natural and exciting extension to the business and realises the potential benefits and opportunities this could afford through various synergies. We have a firm development plan in place to aim to become the ultimate snowboarding media platform in Europe and beyond."

Rasmus Ostergaard, Managing Director of Method, said:

"I am delighted with the Boomerang deal. The Group's skilled professionals share our enthusiasm for snowboarding and are leading players within extreme sports production. Boomerang's expertise, creativity and business qualities will have a significant positive impact on our business.

"Long-term, it gives us a stronger foundation to project the Method brand to a bigger audience, and short-term, it helps us to focus on delivering high quality content both in print and online to our existing audience. It also enables us to focus on our advertisers needs for partnerships with media groups like us in print magazine, online and IPTV for the future growth of snowboarding."

- Ends -

Contacts: 

Boomerang Plus plc

Gareth Rees, Executive Director              Via Redleaf Communications

Redleaf Communications

Anna Dunkin / Samantha Robbins            020 7566 6731 

                                                                   [e-mail]  

Altium Capital

Tim Richardson/ Melanie Szalkiewicz       020 7484 4040

Evolution Securities

Adam Lloyd                                                 020 7071 4317

Notes to Editors: 

Boomerang Plus

• The Group, founded in 1994, has extensive experience in producing content in a variety of genres, including extreme sports, youth programming, music, entertainment, children's programming, and drama
• The market for independent television production companies in the Nations and Regions has grown following quotas from the regulator Ofcom, which require that, depending on the broadcaster, between 10 per cent. and 50 per cent. of qualifying programming hours must be sourced from outside the M25 boundary
• Boomerang is ranked in the top three independent television production companies, by revenue, in the Nations and Regions according to the Broadcast Survey (Nations and Regions) 2009
• The Board's strategy is both to achieve strong organic growth by leveraging the Group's existing customer base coupled with strategic acquisitions, with a view to becoming a major supplier to UK networks looking to satisfy their Nations and Regions quotas

Boom Extreme Publishing

• Boom Extreme Publishing is a newly created subsidiary for Boomerang Plus
• Boom Extreme Publishing's objective is to seek opportunities with key publishing brands, help drive and develop multimedia concepts and build a publishing portfolio within the extreme sports space

Base Camp Media 

• Base Camp Media is a boutique business consultancy within the media sector and has extensive experience in launching new businesses, developing business concepts, and driving revenue growth
• Base Camp Media's Chief Executive, Luke Broadhurst, has been appointed as a consultant to Boom Extreme Publishing with a view to provide an advisory service as its portfolio grows

Method

• Method is a three dimensional media concept for the complete snowboarding experience and aims to provide the best snowboarding activities in print, motion, sound and interactivity 
• Method launched one of the very first snowboarding websites in 1994 called www.methodmag.com. The magazine 'Method Mag' was then launched in 2000, Europe's first VHS snowboarding video magazine; now a leading publication for the industry, distributed throughout 19 countries in Europe. In 2006 Method.TV was launched as the first website of its kind; a complete online snowboarding TV station
• Method provides news and stories about top riders in the snowboarding industry. Method.TV offers the opportunity for readers to watch their favourite boarders online. The website www.methodmag.com is then used as an online forum available to boarders to interact with professionals, share experiences, and ask for tips and advice from those more experienced
• Method is available in English, French, German and Italian. Readers can subscribe to the magazine or it is available in snowboarding shops and at various news stands across 19 European countries

For further information on Boomerang Plus plc, interviews, and publication quality images, please contact Anna Dunkin on 020 7566 6700 or email [e-mail] 

 

END

 

 

NRAMGGMLMMNGLZM