Chinese company acquires youline

HONG KONG, Dec. 21 /PRNewswire-Asia/ — Youline is a high and new technology company focusing on providing personalized information and entertainment services to mobile handset users via the Internet and other modern telecom technologies in the form of SMS, MMS, WAP, interactive voice response, Java applications, CRBT, and other value-added services. Youline holds a PRC Value Added Telecommunication Services Permit and its key management team has signed agreements with the Group to continue to serve the company.

The acquisition of the Haiyan drama production company, Xian Jingding Film Company, Tianjin Tangtu Mobile Game Technology and the collaboration with Renmingwang by ChinaVision have attracted industry attention. An expert of the New Media Research Center of the Media China Network said, “Cooperation between providers of digital entertainment and wireless value-added services can generate synergies to the strategic benefit of the partners. On 8 June this year, for example, Shengda Networks spent USD46.2 million, a 25% premium, to acquire 51% shares of Hurray Holdings, after which the share price of Hurray Holdings climbed 13.75%, helped by the promises of great opportunities the acquisition will bring to the two companies. Earlier, there was the acquisition of Guangzhou Xunlong by SINA resulting in the integration of an online platform and a mobile handset platform. The ChinaVision acquisition of Youline is a match between the digital entertainment content of the former with the mobile value-added platform of the latter, a wise move toward tapping the 3G market.”

According to the Prospects of the global entertainment and media industry (2009-2013) recently published by PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting, in the coming five years, the value of the global entertainment and media industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.7% to USD1.6 trillion in 2013, and that of the market in China will grow at a CAGR of 9.5%, faster than the world average, to USD110 billion. The report also said the entertainment media is going through a “Digital Revolution” with highly-digitalized new media growing significantly faster than traditional media in the next five years. PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting also predicted double digit growth for the movie entertainment, music and video game markets.

Mr. Dong Ping, Chairman of ChinaVision Media Group Limited, said, “It is our great honour to be working with the People’s Daily Online. The acquisition of Youline is going to provide us with charging channels and operational and sales support for our digital entertainment content. 2009 saw the rollout of 3G in China, and we are ready to tap this market by making mobile TV, the spark that will start the 3G market going, our new development focus. ChinaVision is developing online games for 3G handsets and is starting collaboration with the People’s Daily Online on developing mobile TV. Integration of traditional services such as mobile payment, SMS, WAP, and voice call services with new innovative businesses such as mobile news, mobile online game and mobile TV will give the company new growth drivers.

“Our two focuses have been content production and multimedia presentation. Video content production is our strength for we have top producers on our long-standing team and excellent artists, and also advantages throughout the entire production chain from investing in production to producing and distribution. The Group also has the support of traditional media talents and has rich experience in television operation. However, it is the new media such as mobile TV, which ChinaVision is developing, that are representative of the unique characteristic of the Group and their robust growth is going to see the Group’s business skyrocket.”