IVL and Kadokawa Options

[muldoon]

IVL will probably be releasing Kadokawa/Daiei films in the future. Here is a press release I got this week...

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Creating New Opportunities Together
Across Media, Beyond Frontiers, Into The Future.

(28 November 2005 -- Hong Kong) Intercontinental Group of Hong Kong and Kadokawa Group of Japan will today announce their new partnership for mutual co-operation to the entertainment and relevant industries, in the Ballroom of the Hong Kong Intercontinental Hotel.

Intercontinental Group and Kadokawa Group are joining together in an agreement for a new partnership that will not only extend the scope of our mutual business interests, but also elevate them to a higher plane. It is the aim of Intercontinental Group Holdings Ltd. to attain a leading position in the field of multimedia entertainment content provision and distribution, in Hong Kong and other areas where we maintain a presence, while for their part, Kadokawa also aims to realize the full market potential of their wealth of multimedia products in Hong Kong, mainland China, and other regions in Southeast Asia.

The premier position of Intercontinental Group Holding Ltd. among Hong Kong's film distributors stems from Intercontinental Film Distributors (HK) Ltd., which was set up in 1969 and was one of the earliest distributors to introduce Western films into the Asian market. Evolving over the course of 37 years, Intercontinental Group Holdings Ltd. has blossomed into a diversified multimedia entertainment enterprise with wide-ranging business interests, a wealth of human talent, and substantial material resources. Today, Intercontinental Group is the only privately-run commercial organization in Hong Kong to have a completely in-house service for the dissemination of entertainment products through variated means, including the release of film and audio-visual products, cinema management, the distribution of computer games and various kinds of consumer products, as well as internet commerce. In addition to being the sole distributor in Hong Kong for Buena Vista International, Intercontinental also acquires the exclusive distribution right from “Shaw Brothers Classic Library”, which is the largest Chinese movie library in the world, as well as the high quality TV productions of Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), and numerous interactive-software producers and publishers with leading positions in the industry.

Kadokawa Holdings, originally set up in 1945 as a business primarily engaged in the publication and distribution of books, today commands a leading position in Japan's entertainment and media industries. The steady development of their operations has spawned 32 member companies over the years and in April 2004, Kadokawa Holdings formally changed their name to Kadokawa Holdings, Inc..
Kadokawa Group now has an unparallelled volume of high-end operations covering film production and distribution, print publications, game development, cinema management, information technology, and many other areas. The non-stop growth of their business interests hit the significant figure of 121.8 billion on net sales (HK$8.1 billion) and 153.9 billion yen on total assets (HK$10.3 billion) in 2005. In the last few years, Kadokawa Holdings has developed at a steady pace, consolidating their position as the largest publicly-listed entertainment content provider in Japan with a series of joint venture agreements with numerous companies in Asia and the West including DreamWorks, founded by Steven Spielberg, and Korean film giant CJ Entertainment.

Facing the market with clear direction

The main strategies for business development by both parties in the present partnership may be subsumed under the following 6 areas.

Film Production - Thirty-seven years of experience in film distribution has given Intercontinental Group Holdings Ltd. a thorough knowledge of the market, while Kadokawa Group brings to the partnership film-making expertise and unparallelled status as a cultural icon, as well as concrete plans for colloboration with Hollywood studios. Through the multi-level cooperation between both parties in the present partnership, Intercontinental Group will be able to participate in the business of film production, injecting their familiarity with the regional markets and Hongkong-style creativity into the process to come out with movies much more suitable to the tastes of audiences in Hong Kong and neighbouring areas -- and then working with other local or international companies to bring the wealth of story material in Kadokawa's archives onto the big screen.

Film Distribution - The combination of the immense experience from Intercontinental Group and expertise in film production and working relationship with major Hollywood studios from Kadokawa Group will lead to a significant increase in both the number and variety of quality movies released by Intercontinental Group. That, in turn, will allow us to extend our distribution network to other regions in Asia and greatly expand the geographical coverage of our business operations.

Video Distribution - The combination of Intercontinental Group's film distribution channels and Kadokawa Group's film archives, which has over half a century's worth of material with over 2,200 titles, will result in an increase in variety across the board with content covering everything from movies and animation to education and lifestyle.

Cinema Development - Intercontinental Group has a plan to expand it’s MCL cinema chain with the 4 existing locations in the next 3 years to no fewer than 10. In addition, through co-operation with mainland companies, MCL cinemas will make our first inroad across the border with a goal to establish of 10 luxury cinema screens in China within 3 years. As for the Kadokawa Group, who already possess over 300 cinemas in Japan, the present co-operation will enable both parties to engage in the exchange of ideas and know-how, to create more opportunities for cinema development in the future.

Multimedia Content Provision - Multimedia content provision is one of the most important product markets in the new century. The present partnership will enable both parties to complement each other with our respective strengths, to further develop the entire industry in multimedia content provision. To correspond with the requirements of the market, both parties have come together to lay down a comprehensive strategy to expand the realm of multimedia content, pinpointing the three main areas as: internet operations, print publication and mobile telephone content.

Combining the best from both sides to improve the quantity and quality of Entertainment

Through the present large-scale partnership between Intercontinental Group and Kadokawa Group, both parties will be able to fully utilize our own individual strengths for a substantive cross-fertilization of experience and talent in areas such branding, promotion and marketing, distribution, and film production. Especially, in film production, both parties aim at creating opportunities and further room for development in the industry, and will be dedicated to taking every opportunity to work with the best of the best in Hong Kong's movie industry. Complementing each other in our pursuit of common objectives, the partnership will create a "Mega Content Provider and Distributor" which will expand the relevant markets in Hong Kong and neighbouring areas on a comprehensive basis.

Through this new partnership, Intercontinental Group and Kadokawa Group will spare no effort in creating new opportuinties. By breaking the boundaries of frontiers and media types, our mission is to bring the entertainment industry into a new era with bright future.