The NewsMarket to Acquire Medialink
Strategic transaction increases the companys market share, content archive and service offerings
NEW YORK, July 1, 2009 The NewsMarket
(www.thenewsmarket.com) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement and plan of merger with
Medialink Worldwide Incorporated (NASDAQ: MDLK).
The NewsMarket will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Medialinks common stock at a price of $0.20 per share in cash. Once approved
by Medialinks shareholders, Medialinks employees and services will be combined
under The NewsMarket, Inc. This transaction combines The NewsMarkets digital
video distribution platform with Medialinks professional services and
production capabilities to create a complete video solution for corporate
customers.
Video continues to be the fastest growing category in
marketing services, and the combination of The NewsMarket and Medialink will
create a very compelling offering for all of our customers increasingly
sophisticated demands, said Jim
Lonergan, CEO & President of The NewsMarket. Merging Medialinks
strengths in strategy and execution with our technology creates the industrys
most complete video solution and enables us to be responsive to a larger share
of the market. The NewsMarket was launched in 2003 to capitalize on emerging
digital distribution technologies to create the worlds preeminent video
platform for the marketing, PR, and news media industries.
Medialink is a global leader in providing unique news
and marketing media strategies and solutions that enable corporations and
organizations to inform and educate their target audiences with maximum impact
on television, radio and the Internet. Medialink
offers creative services and multimedia distribution programs including video
and audio news and short-form programming. For the 12 month period ending March 31, 2009, Medialink
recorded revenues of $17.95 million.
By acquiring Medialink, The NewsMarket will
significantly broaden its services to the marketing, communications, investor
relations, and media community. Video has gone mainstream and were seeing
budgets increasingly shift toward the inclusion of video in all elements of
mainstream communications and marketing. Customers want one trusted partner for
their sophisticated video needs, and this acquisition positions us incredibly
well to help customers from strategy, through production and distribution added
Lonergan.
With this acquisition, The NewsMarket substantially
increases its customer base, and thereby also exponentially grows its content
archive. This large, varied and high
quality archive is extremely relevant and valuable to the rapidly growing
universe of media organizations, blogs, online outlets and consumer-facing
video sites whose demand for content increases every day.
As investors, we continue to see tremendous
opportunity in the marketing services space, especially around video, and the
acquisition of Medialink is another step in significantly increasing market
share and creating an industry leader with the scale and financial resources to
continue to grow and thrive, said Jordan
Levy, Partner of Softbank and Board director of The NewsMarket. Other
investors in The NewsMarket include Hearst Interactive Media, Battery Ventures,
Apax Partners, and High Peaks Ventures.
The Board of Directors of Medialink has unanimously
approved the transaction. It is anticipated to close this summer, subject to Medialink
stockholder approval, regulatory approvals and other customary closing
conditions.
About The
NewsMarket
The NewsMarket
is the leading platform used by global brands, governments and NGOs to
communicate with all their key audiences using video. The NewsMarket combines
award-winning, proprietary technology with a unique, strategic approach to
support the marketing programs of the worlds leading brands
including General Motors, Volvo Cars, the U.S. Department of State, IBM,
UNICEF, Facebook and Google. The companys media site (www.thenewsmarket.com)
is used by more than 25,000 media outlets in 190 countries to view and order
free news video. Headquartered in New York,
the company also has offices in London,
Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Beijing and San Francisco. To learn more about us, visit:
www.thenewsmarket.com/postingcontent.
For more information and interview requests, please
contact:
The NewsMarket
Romina Rosado
T: +1 212 497 9023
E: romina.rosado@thenewsmarket.com