Premiere Entertainment ventures into Internet casino gaming business

Listed film outfit Premiere Entertainment Productions (PEP) Inc. is venturing into the booming Internet casino gaming business with its  acquisition of Digiwave Solutions Inc., a leading online gaming and software development firm, through a share swap.

In a statement, PEP said it has signed an agreement to acquire 100 percent or 500,000 shares of Digiwave in exchange for the issuance of 1.003 billion PEP shares to the online gaming firm’s shareholders.

Under the proposed deal, certain shareholders of Digiwave will infuse up to P200 million in fresh equity into PEP.

Among Digiwave’s shareholders include S Capital Corp., Jun Ku Lee, Microgames Co. Ltd., Star International Ltd., and OFT Lending Inc.

Upon completion of the share swap, PEP’s authorized capital stock will stand at P2.5 billion while its total subscribed and paid-up capital will reach P1.72 billion based on a par value of P1 each share.

The share swap is anchored on Digiwave’s projected net income for 2008 valued at P125.5 million given a price earnings multiple of eight times.

PEP said the assignment and issuance of shares will take place not later than three business days from approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission of the increase in the company’s capitalization.

Formed Aug. 9, 2006, Digiwave seeks to  establish itself as the market leader in Internet gaming software in the Philippines and eventually compete in the international arena anchored on its proven expertise, experience and innovations in interactive gaming and entertainment.

Digiwave’s strengths are its state-of-the-art South Korean technology and a dedicated, highly-skilled Filipino workforce.

Digiwave chairman Jung Ku Lee said his company is currently the second biggest biggest supplier of games via PhilWeb. The company has already developed two games, Baduki and 7-Card Stud poker, which are deployed to all PEGS branches of Pagcor in Metro Manila.

Digiwave is seeking to take a leading position in the industry with its new game offering such as  Texas Hold ‘Em.

The company is currently in talks with leading software providers and developers to improve its product line-up and to export gaming software to take advantage of the growing online gaming market worldwide.

Digiwave is aiming to capture at least  five percent of the estimated $4-billion gaming software market by 2010.