InternetQ is pleased to announce its investment in
Aventurine, an award-winning independent digital game
development company
Aventurine is
active in the highly profitable online games business for
eight years now and has been focusing on the online
massive multiplayer niche, among the most challenging
segments of the gaming market. Most importantly, the
Company has developed a technologically innovative,
reusable software platform, with asynchronous and
real-time distribution capabilities and the capacity to
interconnect millions of users in highly engaging
interactive environments. Its proof of concept product,
called Darkfall Online, is an award-winning online
massive multiplayer game of fantasy, where thousands of
players from around the globe can interact, cooperate or
compete with each other. With the Darkfall's sequel
launch later this year, Aventurine will have the
opportunity to become a successful franchise.
The Company also develops casual games for online and
mobile use and is in the process of designing a
cross-platform (online, console, mobile) social game
code-named AV-1.0. Furthermore, Aventurine is poised to
break into Asia through a co-development agreement with
one of Korea's major publishing companies, ensuring
that the Company's products have a steady foothold in
the rapidly growing Asian markets.
Aventurine's strategy is to develop large communities
of players that share common characteristics and
interests and spend significant time engaging in gaming
activities. Through its extended network of billing
gateways with mobile network operators, InternetQ can
deliver these games to millions of mobile subscribers
around the world; thus benefit from the significant
m-commerce opportunities as well as the steady
subscription revenue generated by this activity.
The Directors consider this investment to be in line with
InternetQ's strategy, as also stated in the most
recent annual report and in which the company signalled
its intention to invest in developing both content and
development capabilities. Furthermore, the Directors
believe that the particular investment has both
compelling business and financial rationale as
Aventurine's engaging technology will also extend the
value of InternetQ's existing core products, by
providing the Group with an attractive opportunity to
enhance the AKAZOO mobile platform, accelerate
subscription revenue growth, as well as further expand
the interactive software development capabilities for
mobile marketing.
More specifically, the investment in Aventurine will:
-
Broaden InternetQ's capabilities to offer its
AKAZOO subscribers more complete entertainment services
and therefore improve engagement, further accelerating
revenue growth;
-
Dramatically improve InternetQ's software
development capabilities, a key function for the
continuous development of the Group's mobile
engagement platforms;
-
Allow for the immediate distribution of games (mostly
casual) to mobile subscribers, the demand of which is
increasing rapidly around the world;
-
Allow for significant cross-sell opportunities and
delivery of mobile marketing campaigns to the gaming
community; and
-
Exploit the significant m-commerce potential of games
that are increasingly being delivered on mobile
devices.
The investment in Aventurine amounts to € 2.6 million and
will be effected by subscription to a convertible bond
issue (the "Issue"). The Issue is linked to
Aventurine's performance and will mature in March of
2015, while InternetQ will have the option to convert the
bonds into equity at any time. Assuming the conversion
takes place within seven months from the launch of
Darkfall's sequel (code-named Darkfall 2.0),
InternetQ will own c.40% of the Company's share
capital. Following such conversion, InternetQ will also
have the option to buy additional Company shares in order
to control the majority of its share capital.
The investment will be funded by InternetQ's cash
reserves, in line with management's commitment to
invest the proceeds from the most recent secondary
offering to expand the business in what the Directors
believe it will be an accretive fashion. More
specifically, the investment is expected to be earnings
enhancing for 2012 through the receipt of a 6% bond
coupon and has the potential to be earnings accretive in
the years to follow assuming the successful launch of
Darkfall 2.0.
The Issue proceeds will be used for:
-
The launch of Darkfall 2.0 in the US and Europe;
-
The co-development of the Asian Darkfall 2.0, which is
to be a free-to-play version of the original game;
-
The development of premium gaming entertainment content
for InternetQ's AKAZOO platform.
Konstantinos Korletis, Chief Executive of InternetQ plc,
commented:
"This investment is at the heart of our previously
announced plans to develop leading edge content for the
converging space of mobile marketing with social media
and entertainment services, which are all directed to
enhance subscription loyalty. Expanding our product
portfolio and being able to both cross and up-sell
services to our subscribers will be critical for our
future success. Moreover, with the successful launch of
Darkfall 2.0 and the development of Aventurine's
other titles, we will be able to drive more focused
mobile marketing campaigns to an even more affluent pool
of subscribers."
Panagiotis Dimitropoulos, Founder & President of
InternetQ plc also commented:
"The investment in Aventurine is a very exciting
moment for us. Combining InternetQ's leading role in
mobile value added services with the innovating social
entertainment experience of Aventurine, will enable us to
enrich the experiences of our loyal subscriber base,
further strengthen our well-established R&D capabilities,
and give us a strong platform for continued expansion in
the global marketplace. "
For further details
InternetQ
Konstantinos Korletis, Chief Executive Officer
Veronica Nocetti, CFO
Tel: +30 (211) 101 1101
Tel: +30 (693) 260 0128
Tel: +30 (694) 420 5275
Buchanan
Jeremy Garcia / Gabriella Clinkard
Tel: +44 (0)20 7466 5000
Grant Thornton Corporate Finance
Philip Secrett / David Hignell
Tel: +44 (0)20 7383 5100
RBC Capital Markets
Stephen Foss / Pierre Schreuder / Daniel Conti
Tel: +44 (0)20 7653 4000
About InternetQ plc:
InternetQ is a trusted global leader in mobile marketing
and digital entertainment solutions. Through its
proprietary technology platforms, InternetQ enables
mobile network operators, brands, and media companies to
conduct targeted, interactive and measurable mobile
communications and pushes the frontiers in digital mobile
entertainment.
InternetQ is a publicly traded company listed on the
London Stock Exchange's AIM, under the symbol INTQ.
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