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Someone had the foresight to get IPLY's re-releases done the same year the new Baldur's Gate game was released. I think it's good marketing for both games. I applaud whoever came up with it (Herve, the outside company, or Wizards of the Coast)
It would have been nice if IPLY gave a free download to all shareholders.
It takes a year or more (usually more) to produce an animated series from scratch. I didn't see a venue for Earthworm Jim, so I don't know who would be bank rolling it. Whatever broadcaster/streaming service shows it, will usually pay a percentage of the production costs.
I doubt IPLY is paying for the BG:DA releases. I think it's Wizards of the Coast. It's cheap marketing for their (newish) game, Baldur's Gate 3.
On a different note, I think the SEC needs to rethink the trading ability of these non-reporting companies. I don't know what the answer is but, suspending trading hurts the shareholders, not the company.
I wonder what the sales numbers are for the various platforms. I'd, also, love to know what the plan is to get shareholder value.
Tweet:
It's my pleasure to sneak you a gift in before the holidays...
— Black Isle Studios (@BlackIsleStudio) December 17, 2021
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance has arrived on PC!
And some of you thought it wouldn't drop this year. 😏
Available now on Steam, Epic, GOG, Mac and Microsoft Store!#BaldursGateDarkAlliance / #DnD / #RPG pic.twitter.com/sCfEwXHkCZ
It looks like some of the icons on their website could become clickable links, maybe they just are not active, yet.
If it is IPLY's intention to start SEC reporting again, I wish they would come out and say it and lay out their plans for the future. Otherwise, I am hoping some other company buys them.
I think the company could limp along licensing IP and re-releasing old games for the foreseeable future but, it's a disservice to shareholders. Shareholder's IPLY stock is dead money, right now.
I'm interested to see what company will be showing the Earthworm Jim animated series. It didn't say in the article.
I did see an animated Toyota commercial done by the company handling the animated series. It was well done. I think the Earthworm Jim animated series is in good hands.
https://www.stashmedia.tv/toyota-noras-joy-by-kyra-constantin-and-passion-pictures/
Trailer for Baldur's Gate:Dark Alliance out, for Steam, no ETA on actual release date.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1695830/Baldurs_Gate_Dark_Alliance/
WOW voting on the buyout has started and goes on until Dec. 22nd. The Special meeting is set for Dec. 30, 2021.
SEDAR filings:
https://www.sedar.com/DisplayCompanyDocuments.do?lang=EN&issuerNo=00027273
WOW voting on the buyout has started and goes on until Dec. 22nd. The Special meeting is set for Dec. 30, 2021.
I'm a WOW shareholder right now.
But, if I were willing to trade GNUS, there is enough price volatility to mine some gold.
WOW! Unlimited Media Announces Record Quarterly EBITDA on Strong Revenue for the Third Quarter of 2021
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/11/25/2341165/0/en/WOW-Unlimited-Media-Announces-Record-Quarterly-EBITDA-on-Strong-Revenue-for-the-Third-Quarter-of-2021.html
WOW! Unlimited Media Announces Record Quarterly EBITDA on Strong Revenue for the Third Quarter of 2021
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/11/25/2341165/0/en/WOW-Unlimited-Media-Announces-Record-Quarterly-EBITDA-on-Strong-Revenue-for-the-Third-Quarter-of-2021.html
Edit
$20.188 million in revenue
$1.048 million in net income
Schwab would be a no quote, also. I would have to call in to put a sell order.
Schwab will, also, start charging $6.95 for OTC trades.
Yes. Yes it is.
WOW reports Q3 results on Thursday November 25th, before the Toronto market opens.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wow-unlimited-media-announces-third-133000821.html
WOW will report Thursday November 25th, before the Toronto (Canada) market opens.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wow-unlimited-media-announces-third-133000821.html
Interplay's website has been updated. It looks a lot better and is more informative about games they have.
https://www.interplay.com/
‘Earthworm Jim’ TV Series in Development From Interplay Entertainment (EXCLUSIVE)
https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/earthworm-jim-animated-tv-series-1235114624/
Here are some links:
https://www.beyondthegroovy.com/
Get ready to go BEYOND THE GROOVY!
— TheRealEarthwormJim (@AlltheDirtonJim) November 18, 2021
I have a brand new tv show coming soon!
Come see my delicious existence at https://t.co/rzCsjrXM2v right now!#EarthwormJimIsBack #BeyondTheGroovy #Interplay pic.twitter.com/jVzD1egx2J
Genius Brands Acquisition Of Wow Unlimited Is Accretive And A Merger Arbitrage Opportunity
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4467269-genius-brands-acquisition-of-wow-unlimited-is-a-merger-arbitrage-opportunity
I doubt we will hear any integration plans until after the buyout is approved, by WOW shareholders. While unlikely, another company can swoop in and make a better offer for WOW.
Have you considered buying WOW instead, it's trading at a discount?
Short answer, yes, it could do that.
But, I doubt GNUS will go like that again. They have a lot more shares outstanding and more of the people buying shares are doing it for a quick trade.
Monday GNUS announced a conference call for Wednesday and GNUS's share price went from $1.30 to over $2. The selloff started before the news came out. Maybe a longer time period between the announcement and conference call could allow the stock to run higher.
I think GNUS would only run on news that leads to the company being profitable, in a reasonable short time period. I believe GNUS is on track for an operating loss of $15-$20 million for 2021. WOW won't be wiping that out.
I wouldn't, unless I had stock with a cost basis equal to or below his.
The ChizComm acquisition didn't make sense. It wasn't accretive. It about doubled the losses GNUS records.
I don't know if it makes sense or not for GNUS. Andy Heyward is a GNUS shareholder and he seems to like the deal.
I think it would have made more sense for GNUS to make an offer on WOW last year, before it started turning a profit and was trading near $0.30 per share.
Purchasing an animation studio is an acquisition that I thought GNUS should do, when Andy was saying GNUS would make accretive acquisitions. GNUS has the cash to fund animated movies/series based on the IP GNUS has. Owning the studio gives them more control on the production timing.
It's $1.169 Canadian, about $0.935 US per share
and 0.271 shares of GNUS, currently worth, about $0.406 (based on a nominal value $1.50 share price for GNUS).
$0.935
+ $0.406
equals about $1.34 per share.
WOW is trading at a discount (the deal could fall apart and/or does pay until sometime next year). The value could rise or fall based on GNUS's share price.
From the posts I was reading, people were expecting GNUS to be bought out. I didn't see anyone expecting GNUS to be spending money.
This deal makes more sense than the ChizComm acquisition.
You are right about basing the purchase price on a multiple of revenue. I should not have implied that.
We have seen that GNUS paid $8.5 million in cash plus nearly 2 million GNUS shares (worth about $1.80 a share at the time) for ChizComm. ChizComm doesn't look close to producing that kind of revenue and ChizComm will generate a loss (negative earnings).
Acquiring WOW is a much better deal for GNUS than the ChizComm acquisition.
I am not saying WOW will make GNUS profitable, but, it's at least6 stepping in the right direction.
WOW's EBITDA is growing and WOW probably would have shown a profit for 2021, probably in the 5-6 cent US a share range. A P/E of 30 would place the share price around $1.50 to $1.80 (without any crazy speculative spiking).
Unless WOW will hit a shortfall in revenue, it looks like WOW shareholders would be better off not being acquired by GNUS.
Sorry for the edits. I add edits within the (15 minute) time period to save on new posts.
As a WOW shareholder, I'm not sold on this deal. WOW was heading for a profit for 2021 (it was EBITDA positive for 2020) and it's likely a decent P/E would have pushed the share price beyond what GNUS is buying it for.
WOW is hardly garbage. Revenue for the last 12 months is about $56 million US. GNUS is paying less than one times revenue, revenue is something something GNUS sorely lacks. With WOW's animation studios GNUS can fast track animation series at slightly lower costs. Also, putting Kartoon Channel on the Frederator Networks could drive a lot more views, increasing ad revenue.
WOW has some fairly high profile projects ("Castlevania" animated series, "Adventure Time", "Fairly OddParents", etc).
It's clear why GNUS is buying WOW.
GNUS is cratering because of the speculative increase that happened on Monday's PR announcing today's conference call. GNUS was trading near $1.30/$1.35 before Monday's press release. It's still up based on that.
I held GNUS going into June of last year. I know the company and the dilution that has taken place. It will still have a long way to go to hit breakeven.
As a WOW shareholder, I'm hoping for another buyer.
If WOW ended the year with profit, it's likely the share price would be above this buyout price.
I'm a WOW shareholder. The deal looks good for GNUS. I'm hoping another company comes in and makes a better bid for WOW.
This deal is for less than one times WOW revenue
This deal should cost GNUS about $40 million in cash plus 11.4 million shares of GNUS.
WOW is EBITDA positive, is showing about a $0.03 US cent a share profit so far for 2021 ( for Q1 and Q2). Has revenue for the last 12 months of about $56 million US.
WOW has a substantial MCN (YouTube multi channel network)generating over $20 million US in revenue and animation studios generating over $30 million US in revenue. This will add substantially to GNUS.
There is good synergy for lower cost animation for GNUS and much better distribution on Frederator/WOW networks.
Edit
It's a much better deal than the ChizCom buyout.
Edit 2
The Frederator Networks generate about a billion views a month and generate over $20 million US a year for WOW
https://www.channelfrederatornetwork.com/
The (70) millions of views GNUS has been PRing are pitiful.
The deal has been outlined in a SEDAR filing for WOW. Today's filing.
https://www.sedar.com/DisplayCompanyDocuments.do?lang=EN&issuerNo=00027273
It's 0.271 shares of GNUS and C$1.169 (about $0.935 US) for each share of WOW stock.
It looks to be a good acquisition for GNUS, if it goes through.
Edit
It includes converting some debt WOW has into shares.
Genius Brands Int. Buying Frederator Studios Parent Wow! Unlimited Media For $53 Million
https://deadline.com/2021/10/genius-brands-frederator-wow-unlimited-animation-1234863270/
Odd. WOW has been flagged as Halted at the open.
https://www.stockwatch.com/Quote/Detail.aspx?C:WOW
Edit: Better link
Halted at the request of the company pending an announcement.
https://www.stockwatch.com/News/Item/Z-C!WOW-3157231/C/WOW
It's going to be hard to get a better valuation as long as IPLY stock buying is restricted.
Saw this a few days ago, forgot to post it:
ICYMI: These games now have Mac and Linux support!#RETROGAMING #mac #linux #Interplay pic.twitter.com/eS8qKxrFY6
— Interplay (@InterplayGames) October 15, 2021
Prepare To Lose Your Head. Interplay (IPLY) Rereleases Battle Chess
https://www.gamespress.com/Prepare-To-Lose-Your-Head-Interplay-IPLY-Rereleases-Battle-Chess
Edit
The article also names the (30?) games getting MacOS and Linux treatments.
Just be aware I don't post all the information I come across. Some information seems trivial when I first see it, other information I can't tie directly to WOW.
Examples:
1) I noticed an update to info on Frederator Networks website. The monthly views dropped from 3 billion per month to 1 billion per month. While it's a big drop, it seems trivial. The share price didn't really go up when it went to 3 billion views and no share price drop going back to 1 billion monthly views.
https://www.channelfrederatornetwork.com/
2) HBO Max has commissioned a new "Adventure Time" animated series (Fiona and Cake), but I didn't see WOW attached to the news.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/adventure-time-fionna-cake-spin-off-hbo-max-1234998668/
3) Paramount + announced a live-action "Fairly OddParents" series. Again, no direct tie to WOW.
https://deadline.com/2021/02/nickelodeons-dora-the-explorer-the-fairly-odd-parents-get-live-action-series-remakes-on-paramount-1234700539/
Buying on the Toronto Exchange has been driving up the share price. There was a 5,000 share trade today at $1.10 (Canadian), yesterday trading about 15,000 shares traded up to $1.09 (Canadian) up 5 cents (Canadian) for the day.
Trading is more active in Toronto, so I have kept my eye on the trading there.
https://money.tmx.com/en/quote/WOW/trade-history
Not much news coming out of WOW these days, so it's hard to account for the increased buying in Canada.
Edit
Currently $1 Canadian is worth $0.80 US
Battle Chess 4000 on Steam
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1769220/Battle_Chess_4000/