Vizrt Decides for Complete Takeover of Adactus

February 19, 2010

Source: Vizrt

Vizrt Ltd announced that its Board of Directors has approved in principle the purchase of the remaining 71.01% of the issued share capital of privately held Adactus A.S. ("Adactus").

The deal values Adactus at NOK 30 million (approx. USD 5.1 M). Vizrt currently holds 28.99% of the issued share capital of Adactus, with the first investment made in September 2005 as a commitment for joint development projects.

The proposed transaction is subject to a financial, legal and commercial due diligence review to the satisfaction of Vizrt and reaching an agreed upon definitive agreement with Adactus' shareholders. The Board of Directors of Vizrt has authorized the management of Vizrt to conclude the proposed transaction based on the above guidelines.

Adactus has developed a multimedia delivery platform based on the newly-evolving ISO standard, MPEG-21, as well as a mobile content gathering and delivery solution.

The proliferation of mobile and other content access devices, such as smart phones, tablet PCs and smart TVs, means that content has to be delivered in conformity with the different (screen)formats and capabilities of each of these devices. Adactus was founded with these requirements in mind, and the company has developed the tools that are needed to serve this fragmented market.

The Company's solutions ensure that, for instance, the video you see on your Nokia mobile is optimized for that device, and that people using the iPhone can get that same video, from the same source, in a size and quality that is optimized for their screen.

Significant resources have been spent by content providers on testing various solutions available to meet with this need to deliver content to various mobile terminals each with different specifications. Turner from the US (CNN, Cartoon Network, etc) and Norway's NRK are two of the many companies that have selected Adactus as their video delivery platform.

Another aspect of Adactus's business is their content gathering solution, where journalists (or private individuals) record and gather content on their mobile phone and deliver this to news organizations, enabling many exclusives and breaking news content where otherwise there would be no content.

Bjarne Berg, Vizrt's CEO, stated, "The market for content delivery to mobile terminals is increasing in importance and is fast growing. Fully integrating this capability with Vizrt's other content production and distribution capabilities, allows further strengthens our offering to content delivery houses. They know, as we do, that offering the best viewing experience is critical to growing market share and related revenues."

He continues, "The decision to acquire the rest of Adactus was an easy one. We have worked with the Company for some time, already hold a significant stake and have two serving Board members. As a result, we know Adactus, its capabilities and markets well. Following satisfactory due diligence and Board approval of the take-over, we therefore anticipate a smooth integration with Vizrt's operations."

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