Integrated Media Holdings Wins Bid For WV Fiber Network
Aug 3, 2006 2:22 PM
Integrated Media Holdings (I-Media) announced that it will acquire all of the assets and operations of WV Fiber LLC, a global fiber network service provider to more than 70 existing network customers, including leading cable, telecommunications, and content delivery companies such as Charter Communications, Cincinnati Bell, Akamai, VitalStream, and Knology.
The acquisition of the WV Fiber network brings to IMHI approximately $4 million in current annual network contract revenues, adds $1.75 million in net assets to the IMHI balance sheet, and has an extensive pipeline of new network contracts. The sale clears the network and operations from bankruptcy as the assets and operations of WV Fiber are being sold to IMHI “free and clear” of interests from creditors.
Under the terms of the purchase, preferred shares issued as a part of this agreement will not have any effect on fully-diluted amount of shares outstanding of IMHI. The network and operations will be held by a newly formed, wholly-owned subsidiary of Integrated Media and will become a key component of the I-Media Group and its multi-platform content delivery network. The closing of the acquisition is expected to occur on August 8, 2006.
“The infrastructure and operations of the WV Fiber network that we are acquiring, along with the products and services being rolled out by Endavo and our recently announced acquisition of Bidchaser, provide a major inflection point for our company,” says Paul Hamm, I-Media’s CEO. “The acquisition of the WV Fiber network will provide I-Media with an immediate and significant base of recurring and growing contract revenues for the first time—a major improvement to our financials—and the content delivery network infrastructure to support our broadband video and d-commerce initiatives.”
The WV Fiber network and operations will be used for continued Internet access, transport, Optical Carrier (OC) connectivity, collocation, and peering. The network will also serve as the IP-based content delivery backbone network for broadband video platforms and IPTV services deployed by Endavo Media and Communications, another wholly-owned subsidiary of IMHI. WV Fiber currently has over 400 network peering relationships. With this in place, I-Media is poised to become a leading global IPTV and broadband TV player for content, network connectivity and transport. WV Fiber, Inc. will continue expanding its market reach as its extensive existing and growing connectivity simultaneously functions as the content delivery network for Endavo’s delivery of digital content and IP-based services to IPTV and broadband TV platforms and service providers around the globe.
WV Fiber has one of the most advanced national fiber-Optic networks in the United States and ranks in the top two percent of the world’s networks for connectivity. The OC-192/OC-48 global IP and transport network, which now includes 22 points of presence in 16 cities worldwide, delivers Internet solutions for enterprises, ISPs and carriers. The network also connects with over 400 other networks via peering agreements, encompassing the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Far East.
“We are pleased to be part of the IMHI acquisition, which ensures the continued success of WV Fiber, said Peter Marcum, chairman of WV Fiber. “Since it’s formation in 2003, we have become one of the leading backbone networks and I-Media will help us to expand our reach to new customers.”
“We are thrilled about the impact the acquisition of WV Fiber will have on I-Media and our shareholders,” Hamm added. “This acquisition greatly accelerates our business model in both the broadband video and d-commerce markets. We expect continued growth in WV Fiber’s network sales and immediate cost of operations decrease for our subsidiaries that rely upon content delivery networks.”
