Loyalist to Acquire Largest Agency in South Korean
Nachrichtenquelle: Marketwired | 24.11.2014, 15:01 | 53 Aufrufe | 0 | druckversion
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Nov. 24, 2014) - Loyalist Group Limited ("Loyalist", the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:LOY) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all the shares of Uhak.com ("Uhak"), a South Korean based student recruiting agency, providing information and registration services to South Korean students looking to study abroad.
Uhak had consolidated revenue of $10.3 million, representing student tuition fees of approximately $40 million, and adjusted net income of $1.0 million (EBITDA $1.2 million) in the 12-month period ended December 2013.
"This acquisition adds a new dimension to Loyalist's vertical integration strategy," said Chief Executive Officer Andrew Ryu. "By acquiring one of our largest agency partners, we will be in a position to reduce our direct costs of attracting students, as well as strengthening ourselves a source for growing our student population, with an expected annualized additional net benefit of approximately $2.0 million within the first year. We look forward to welcoming the Uhak team into the Loyalist family."
Loyalist will pay $8.1 million for Uhak, of which $5.3 million will be paid in cash, subject to certain closing adjustments, and $2.8 million will be paid through the issuance of 5,384,615 Loyalist common shares at a price of $0.52 per share, with $2.2 million of such shares being held in escrow for a period up to 24 months following closing as security for certain defined post-closing adjustments. The parties expect to complete the transaction on or around December 5, 2014.
Mr. Ryu also stated "It should be noted that students do not necessarily have to attend one of our schools for Loyalist to benefit from students going overseas to study, as we will share in the commission fees for students who might choose to attend a school in another country (for example Australia, the USA or England)".
Completion of the transaction is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange and the Bank of Korea.
