Company Profile

YooMedia plc is one of the fastest growing interactive entertainment companies in the UK.
Since 1997 we have been developing and launching leading B2C consumer brands in the gaming and community sectors. We also work in a B2B capacity with leading brand owners, agencies, content developers and broadcasters to design and develop their interactive content strategies.

Led by Executive Chairman Dr. Michael Sinclair and Group Managing Director Neil MacDonald, YooMedia has assembled a highly experienced management team that possesses a unique blend of skills and experience in the areas of Digital TV, Internet and mobile phone services and technology.

With main office locations in London, Exeter and Maidstone, YooMedia manages core assets including:

Over 30 office locations throughout the UK alone

State-of-the-art studio, production and post-production facilities at our Wapping location.

UK broadcast return path & bandwidth owner

Fully fledged UK Bookmaker License

Database with over 350K UK singles

SMS Engine access with international reach

Fully staffed 50 seat Customer Contact Centre in Maidstone, Kent

YooMedia Dating & Chat - Our dating subsidiary company manages the oldest and largest UK-owned dating brands including Dateline, Club Sirius and Avenues. YooMedia Dating has over 20 office locations throughout the UK and also manages YooChat, our world-leading interactive chat service found on UK digital cable on the Telewest platform (platform extensions planned for 2005).

YooMedia Gambling & Games - Combining the brands of Avago and Channel 425 (in partnership with William Hill) YooMedia is on the leading-edge of interactive fixed odds, casino and poker gambling services for digital TV, the web and 3G mobile phones. Our gaming business also manages YooPlay, the only interactive just for fun games channel found on all four Digital TV platforms in the United Kingdom.

YooMedia Enhanced Solutions (YES) - YES works with brand owners, agencies, content owners and broadcasters to clarify the options, define the strategies and deliver the interactive content that enhances consumer and audience experiences. YES customers include the BBC, Nestle, Celador, William Hill, Channel 4, ZipTV, The Cartoon Network and HR Owen.

thanks to malkie.



Im going to do a bit of speculating here just on the basis of the information at hand.

After a little chat with Axe last week he drew my attention to the wording of announcements and how you have to dissect them very carefully. If you do you can see there is often more revealed (or concealed!) than at first meets the eye.
So hear goes....

From the recent Trading Statement:

During the last three months the Board has conducted an in-depth review of the Company's activities. This has resulted in a decision to explore strategic alternatives for its Dating division following preliminary approaches from third parties. The significant value of the Dating business is, in the Director's opinion, obscured in the Company as a whole. Such alternatives are expected to provide both increased marketing opportunities for the division and strengthen the Company's balance sheet.

The more you read the above extract the more interesting it becomes:

Dissecting it; in-depth review of Companys activities commenced 3 months ago in August. At some point between then & the release of the trading statement a decision was made to explore strategic alternatives for the dating division. This decision was made with the backdrop of preliminary approaches received from third parties.

Then the really interesting bit:

"Such alternatives are expected to provide both increased marketing opportunities & strengthen the Companys balance sheet.

I think this could be more of a done deal than it first looks.

If the trading statement is to be believed, the company cannot be talking about a straightforward disposal. If it were, then whilst any proceeds would certainly strengthen the balance sheet, a disposal in itself would not result in increased marketing opportunities for the Company.

In order to provide the company with increased marketing opportunities, the proposition would need to offer the Company access to markets beyond their existing database. That says to me that a third party would also be bringing something to the party (In addition to cash) perhaps in terms of either access to a larger market, or perhaps their own database of singles.

According to the trading statement, the strategic review commenced in the middle of August, over a month before the interims were published, which announced the appointment of Josie Adams as Chief Executive of Yoomedia dating and that Jim Weir was to be positioned as Chairman of the Dating division. This signalled that the division was to be restructured, but no reason or justification was given at the time. Given the announcement of "exploring stratigic alternatives for the Division" in the trading statement, this move starts to make a bit more sense.

The "stratigic alternative" sounds to me like a JV of some description or a merger of the division with a third party. Perhaps with an equity buy in from the third party mentioned.

"The significant value of the Dating business is, in the Director's opinion, obscured in the Company as a whole"

I also think the object may not be to realise as much cash as possible by way of a disposal. Rather to achieve the benefits of a more realistic valuation attached to the division going forward and to be able to raise as much cash as is required through some type of JV or strategic alliance, thus wiping out the overdraft & seeing them through to C/F+.

It probably wouldnt pay to speculate further as to what type of entity this 3rd party may be, as there are countless possible fits.

But when ITV are looking at FriendsReunited with a 150m price tag on the business, http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/07/itv_friends/
You can appreciate the Boards logic in the statement The significant value of the Dating business is, in the Director's opinion, obscured in the Company as a whole.

As I said, I think this could be more of a done deal than it looks.

But lets not get too exuberant and ignore altogether the main thrust of the trading statement and that was to advise that as a result of delays in renegotiating the WH contract, C/F+ is expected to be delayed till 1st of next F/Y and of course that the balance sheet does need strengthening.



One thing that was overlooked last week was Ciscos $6.9 bid for Scientific Atlanta, the US second largest producer of set top boxes, signalling Ciscos desire to move into the home networking market (VOD, IPTV & Cable). More evidence that the Cable war is really hotting up!


http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/11/18/business/cisco.php

http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2005/11/19/cncisc19.xml&menuId=242&sSheet=/money/2005/11/19/ixcity.html

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/4492.html

It looks like YOO holders are into astrology now after than last post. I've never seen so much positive spin and mis-interpretation put into one RNS, It's a classic. Definately one for the lectures. Companies WILL ALWAYS post the most positive news available, therefore any hint of negative interpretation should be taken very seriously not turned into some mystic interpretation.

As for anybody that believes that interpretation, The moon is in conjunction with Uranus.

Thanks to AXE79.


Further clarity.
Thought I better explain further, for all the holders rather than the traders,
things are shaping up nicely.

The big news last week was the RNS on the 15th.
Are you aware that if the production costs of channel 425 were not being borne
by YOO throughout Q2 the financial picture would have been very different?
The company would have been cash flow positive!

The costs are now being met by William Hill AS FROM the signing of the contract
on Friday the 11th Nov. This is a major improvement in the deal that Yoo has with
them previously. The enormity of this deal is not yet factored into the Share price.

Onto another matter, when the tie in with 'Who wants to be a Millionaire' started
no one knew how successfull it would be. It was thought that they might get say
25,000 responses per show.

They got 250,000 on one show when the people at home joined in on 3 occasions!
On last weeks show on just I response they got 100,000 hits. The figures are
improving.

Since the RNS Yoo has received even more approaches, so there's a few now
on the table to consider with various different proposal been made. There is
action happening on other fronts, so I sense that they are not in a hurry.
This implies to me that the working cash position is OK.

Thx for your last post mac!!

post worth reading just put on the iii board by 'Smash n Grab'.....


"I would say a turnover of 100million+ is strong (10 million per month).

There have been delays which have slowed profit, namely with William Hill. However, the contract has now been improved and will contribute to profit in 2006. YOO no longer bear the production costs (see Axe post earlier), which would have been considerable.

This revenue projection does not include the new products released in August which would have incurred considerable cost, nor does it include the potential of the NTL (again significant cost), freeview or 3G services which are in their infancy.

It doesnt include new contracts from YES, ipublic etc (could grow to be the leading division). Nor new agreements with Gemstar and ICTV, all of which will contribute to profit in 2006.

It doesnt include "startegic alternatives" for the dating division which WILL strengthen the balance sheets.

It doesnt include "Real time SMS" which will be licenced more and more as iTV grows etc etc.

The cost of YOOs technology has been significant but the roll out should see much greater revenue and profits.

Profit Q1 2006, thereafter YOO will fulfill its true potential."

And thx AGAIN mac,appreciated

Same crap thats been posted all year.

More jam tomorrow rubbish.

Dil ! 4 someone like yourself thats always likes 2 rubbish this share u don't half keep a morbid sick interest in this one !

If YOO is such crap why bother 2 tune in?

Probably disbelief IMHO

Because him and his mate Scripo bought at 50p a couple of years ago.

lol mct will you ever admit you were wronmg on this...when it does a rights issue will you admit you have been wrong?? go on i dare you.....rights issue......you admit you called it wrong and have done for months/years...bet you wont

Will you admit you were wrong if there is no rights issue?

WT.

yip...if yyoo hit 50p and secure their financial future I will admit i was wrong...as I am sure other people who have a poor opinion on the stock

I am pretty sure Dil and I have never owned an ounce of this rubbish. I definately have not ever had a position in YOO and I am pretty sure Dil is the same.

http://fundooprofessor.blogspot.com/2005/10/lollapalooza-from-insider-trading.html

So if you both really are so confident of the finances, rights issue, why not short it??

Really, a serious question?? Or are you expecting a rise?

I can't speak for Dil but for me I am an investor and not a trader so therefore I am hardly ever short whatever the outlook. The market is a funny place but I prefer to catch up side from beaten up stocks rather than anything else, its worked for 20 years so why change?

IMO, If YOO went down the rights issue route then they would need to canvass support for larger shareholders, going for a rights issue without that support and failing would kill the business stone dead. If they managed to get the rights issue out existing shareholders would get massively diluted, again. But it would lend support to the business, even if only temporary. They have got to get cash generating else all new cash would do is sustain life for a little longer rather than really solving any problems.

If I was appointed to the company I would close the loss making parts and focus on profitability before trying anymore new relationships. I don't need more naff, losing making products on the shelf, lets get what they have working first.

If dateline really is a gem then that is the last thing I would think of selling.

Scripophilist

YOO stated the amended Hill's contract, will make the gaming division profitable. It's the gaming division which is responsible for the continued poor performance. YES and Dating are cash flow positive.

The RNS indicates YOO will retain a portion of the dating equity and the marketing opportunity's will increase. Indeed, it may deliver business for YES, via an additional dating portal, through iTV. I expect rights to the 3G dating revenue to be shared.

So with the gaming division profitable next year, why is it not a buy?

A French online dating business, is sue to be floated at over 70m soon, with similar revenue's to Dateline. They do not have the golden carrot of 3G video dating.

Where is the evidence of a rights issue or placement in the RNS. The last sentence in the second last paragraph, is connected to the last paragraph. The two are linked.

Skill gaming will be introduced at the year end, expanding the pool of players and new advanced gaming services to be launched on Freeview.

The bone of contention is, do you believe every word in the RNS? For my sins, I do!

ipublic, YOO's management have been very good at stating how good their prospects are and how they are about to go cash flow positive. Unfortunately they have failed time and time and time again at delivery, losing nearly 50m of shareholders money in the process.

How many failures does it take?

Scripophilist

Ask a SKY shareholder, what the cashburn was pre 2000. Go on!

So cash flow positive has been delayed a a couple of months, due to a delay in the Hill's contract, now on better terms. So what? Hardly a failure.

Yes, next year is make or break, but it looks good to me. Based on the last RNS.

No placement or rights issue.