JumpTV and NeuLion announce merger
June 9, 2008 - JumpTV, a broadcaster of live and on-demand sports via the Internet, has signed a letter of intent to undertake a merger with NeuLion, a provider of Internet TV via dedicated set-top boxes, with the stated aim of creating a leading provider of online sports, international and religious programming.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the autumn of this year, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, and the combined company will be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). NeuLion already provides web-based broadcasting services to sports customers such as the National Hockey League and the International Fight League, as well as international customers such as ABS-CBN (Philippines), KylinTV (China) and Globecast (France). Charles Wang, founder and former CEO of Computer Associates International, will become Chairman of the merged company, while Nancy Li will become CEO and Jordan Banks will continue as an interim CEO of JumpTV.
"The combination of our highly complementary technologies and depth of expertise in the areas of sports and international IPTV delivery makes for incredible synergy between the two companies," said G. Scott Paterson, Executive Chairman, JumpTV. "This merger enables us to provide our partners with a complete solution for streaming content live online across multiple devices and viewing platforms."
In connection with the merger, JumpTV has decided to retain certain assets of its content delivery network (CDN) and international channels, which it will leverage within the combined company structure and multi-platform offering. The company had previously stated that it intended to divest its CDN and international channels.
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