DIGIWAVE ACQUIRED BY P.E.P. IN PHILIPPINES DEAL

29 February 2008

Online gaming and software developer has new games in mind


The Philippines-listed entertainment group Premiere Entertainment Productions Inc. (PEP) announced Monday that it had signed a deal to acquire online gambling software developer Digiwave Solutions Inc. subject to shareholder approval. Through a share swap the deal calls for the issuance of about 1.003 billion PEP shares in exchange for 100 percent ownership of Digiwave amounting to P 50 million (about US$1.24 million), PEP said in a media statement.

“The share swap is anchored on Digiwave’s projected net income as for the year ending December 31, 2008 valued at P125.499 million given a P/E multiple of eight times," the company said.

Agreement had been reached to rename the company 'Premiere Entertainment Philippines Inc.,' and the selling shareholders of Digiwave had agreed to invest P150 million in cash in the new company, the announcement added.

PEP is engaged in entertainment, gaming and leisure activities. Chaired by movie producer Cirio Santiago, it produces full-length motion pictures and program content for free television, cable broadcast and video distribution. A subsidiary, Premium Events Palace Inc., is involved in land bingo parlour operations.

Digiwave is an entertainment and IT company founded on August 9, 2006. Its principal business is software development and provision, mainly for leisure gaming. The company uses South Korean technology and a Filipino workforce, and is looking to expand internationally.

In a statement, Digiwave chairman Jung Ku Lee said Digiwave was currently the second-biggest supplier of gaming stations in the Philippines through the facilities of government agency PhilWeb.

The company has developed two games, “Baduki” and “7-Card Stud” poker, which are available in online gaming branches of the government’s Philippine Gaming and Amusement Corp. (Pagcor) in Metro Manila. New game releases planned for the future include a version of the popular poker game Texas Hold'em for online gambling.

A recent PriceWaterhouseCoopers study showed that the Internet gaming market in Asia is valued at $2.3 billion, with growth expected to reach $4 billion by 2010.

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa