Business NEWS

What is with blinkx and MIVA?

By Amarendra Bhushan for CEOWORLD Magazine Updated:November 19, 2008

Blinkx plc (“blinkx”) confirms that it has today delivered a letter to the Board of Directors and CEO of MIVA, Inc. (“MIVA”) , in which blinkx has revived its proposal to acquire MIVA, for a revised cash consideration of $0.55 per share.

MIVA is a Nasdaq-listed digital media company. It describes itself as having two focuses to its business: owning and operating a portfolio of consumer destination sites and interest-specific toolbars, through its MIVA Direct division; and running a third-party contextual Pay-Per-Click ad network focused on key vertical sectors, through its MIVA Media division. MIVA, Inc. operates across North America and throughout parts of Europe.
blinkx believes the proposal is highly attractive for MIVA shareholders, particularly in light of issues in the MIVA business and current market conditions. blinkx’s proposal represents a 108% premium above the closing price of MIVA common stock of $0.2643 on November 18, 2008, and a 39% premium over the average closing price for the thirty days prior to November 18, 2008.

Commenting on the proposal, blinkx CEO and Founder Suranga Chandratillake said: “Given the strength of our financial results last week, it’s clear that certain emerging sectors of online advertising, specifically video, continue to thrive. blinkx is uniquely positioned to capitalize on that opportunity. We believe there is significant value in the MIVA business and real potential to increase that value for shareholders through the proposed transaction. However, because of MIVA’s continued loss-making performance and rapidly declining cash position, time is of the essence. We trust that the MIVA Board will recognize that expediency is critical to realizing the benefits of this opportunity and providing stability to MIVA shareholders, customers and employees.”

Mr. Chandratillake continued, “When we first publicly proposed to acquire MIVA in August 2008 we were clear in our public and private communications that we could fund the acquisition through available cash resources. We can still do so today, regardless of MIVA’s significantly reduced cash position, so let there be no confusion as to the source of capital for this deal.”

blinkx has worked with MIVA as a customer and partner for a number of years and respects MIVA’s achievements in building a global keyword advertising network and growing the MIVA Direct consumer offering. However, the MIVA business has reported a decline in cash for the past four quarters, and blinkx is concerned that valuable time has been wasted whilst MIVA’s resources dwindled, resulting in constraints on capital to facilitate growth. Moreover, MIVA has resorted to an expensive line of credit to fund future operations, which is also likely to impact future growth prospects in exchange for short-term working capital benefits.

About blinkx

blinkx plc (LSE AIM: BLNX) is the world’s largest and most advanced video search engine. Today, blinkx has indexed more than 32 million hours of audio, video, viral and TV content, and made it fully searchable and available on demand. blinkx’s founders set out to solve a significant challenge – as TV and user-generated content on the Web explode, keyword-based search technologies only scratch the surface.

blinkx’s patented search technologies listen to – and even see – the Web, helping users enjoy a breadth and accuracy of search results not available elsewhere. In addition, blinkx powers the video search for many of the world’s most frequented sites. blinkx is based in San Francisco and London.

Like this article! ‹ Zurich appoints Mario Vitale CEO of its Global Corporate business division Do you think Optionable Inc. executives are responsible or its system what made them? ›
Share this Post: Get It Delivered To Your Inbox