PAYNOVA ADDS TRANSACTION VOLUME OF SEK 10 BILLION PER YEAR
(NGM:PAY)
• Paynova is expanding its operational partnership with China’s CRD. Planned operational start is during the third quarter of 2008 and CRD estimates it will have built up a monthly transaction volume of RMB 1 billion, equivalent to MSEK 900, from October 2008 until the end of 2010.
• Paynova and CRD will also evaluate the conditions for a merger. As a first step, CRD intends to acquire newly-issued shares for a maximum of 10 per cent of the share capital of Paynova. Paynova and CRD will also assess the conditions for implementing cross-ownership of the companies in the region of 3-5 per cent of the share capital. CRD will thus be both an industrial partner and a part owner of Paynova. Joint ownership will then be increased in several stages and could also result in a total merger.
• Paynova’s expected costs and investments for a rapid operational start with CRD, as well as for implementation of additional major customer projects and market investments, involve a need for supplementary guaranteed financing of around MSEK 30. Paynova’s board intends to make a proposal concerning financing at the annual general meeting.
• The board’s decision on agreements with CRD is dependent on the Paynova annual general meeting authorising the board to issue new shares to CRD.
• In order to complete more detailed negotiations with CRD and to prepare a proposal concerning supplementary financing, Paynova’s annual meeting is being moved from 8 May 2008 to 22 May 2008. An invitation to the annual general meeting will be issued by 24 April 2008 at the latest.
“We are looking forward to extensive cooperation with Paynova as an important strengthening of our partnership. After having worked together for one and a half years, we can clearly see that Paynova’s payment service and expertise is well suited for our requirements for developing CRD’s offer for Chinese and international markets. We are therefore looking forward to strengthening Paynova’s and CRD’s partnership on several levels. Our aim and plan is to grow significantly and we expect to generate e-business deals that will provide Paynova with monthly transaction volumes of around RMB 1 billion by the end of 2010. We are also looking forward to gradually increasing financial joint ownership, which will be ideal for our plans to list CRD on the stock exchange at a later date,” comments Ahong Lee, chairman of the board of CRD.
“We are very pleased to be able to present expanded cooperation with CRD. We see huge potential in CRD for dramatically expanding transaction volumes for Paynova, as well as a very exciting industrial and financial partner with high ambitions within our market segments. We will now gradually expand our partnership, above all prior to CRD’s commercial launch during the second half of 2008, in order to create the long-term conditions for a more comprehensive strategic partnership that could also lead to a merger between the two companies,” comments Lars Guldstrand, chairman of the board of Paynova.
“The expanded partnership with CRD confirms yet again how attractive Paynova’s payment service is in the online gaming and retail segments. We are now negotiating for several major partnerships, for example within online gaming in both the USA and Asia,” comments Björn Wahlgren, CEO of Paynova.
EXPANDED COOPERATION AIMED AT MERGER
Paynova has agreed on a dramatically expanded partnership with the company’s Chinese partner CRD. Among other things, agreement has been reached for Paynova and CRD to assess and work for a merger between the two companies.
The expanded partnership is based on a joint perception that the payment service constitutes a vital part of CRD’s virtual world and that Paynova’s payment service is ideal for this task. Paynova and CRD also believe that a merger in the long term would benefit both parties, in part against the background of how vital the payment service is for the mode of operation of the virtual world. CRD is prepared, as a first step, to acquire newly-issued shares up to the equivalent of 10 per cent of the share capital of Paynova. CRD will thus be both an industrial partner and a part owner of Paynova.
CRD’s aim from October 2008 is to gradually build up and provide Paynova with transaction volumes of RMB 1 billion per month, corresponding to around MSEK 900, by the end of 2010. Paynova’s net income constitutes 1 per cent of the transaction volume.
Paynova and CRD will also assess the conditions for implementing cross-ownership of the companies in the region of 3-5 per cent of the share capital.
The board’s decision on agreements with CRD is dependent on the Paynova annual general meeting authorising the board to issue new shares to CRD.
PROPOSAL CONCERNING FINANCING
Paynova’s expected costs and investments for a rapid operational start with CRD, as well as for implementation of additional major customer projects and market investments, involve a need for supplementary guaranteed financing of around MSEK 30. Paynova’s board intends to make a proposal concerning financing at the annual general meeting.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 22 MAY
In order to conclude further negotiations with CRD and to prepare a proposal concerning new financing, Paynova’s annual general meeting will be moved from 8 May 2008 to 22 May 2008.
An invitation to the annual general meeting will be issued by 24 April 2008 at the latest.
BACKGROUND – PAYNOVA AND CRD’S PARTNERSHIP
CRD works on behalf of the Chinese government in order to build an extremely comprehensive virtual world – Beijing Cyber Recreation District – in order to create one of the world’s leading platforms for e-business and online gaming.
The commercial launch of the first parts of the project are planned for the third quarter of 2008, when Paynova’s operational delivery will allow Chinese online users to pay with local payment methods and local currency.
CRD’s activities are based on technology from Swedish company MindArk (the company behind the Entropia Universe virtual world, for which Paynova is a supplier), among others.
Since 2006, Paynova and CRD have had a partnership in which Paynova’s task is to supply payment services for a platform for e-business and online gaming which, according to the plan, is to be launched during the third quarter of 2008. During 2007, joint marketing initiatives have been arranged in the USA, the UK, China and South Korea, among others.
During the last week, they continued these joint marketing initiatives in New York at the leading gaming fair Virtual Worlds 2008. Paynova’s seminar attracted huge interest and was visited by around 130 different online companies. More information and a presentation is available on Paynova’s website www.paynova.com, under the heading “About Paynova”, “News”.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Björn Wahlgren, CEO and Group President, Paynova AB
Telephone: +46 (0)70-728 74 40
Lars Guldstrand, Chairman of the Board, Paynova AB
Telephone: +46 (0)70-528 81 81
Robert Chi Tao Lai, Chief Scientist, Beijing Cyber Recreation Development Corp,
Telephone: +86 136 0115 1562
ABOUT PAYNOVA
Paynova offers an international, account-based complete service for payments via the Internet. With Paynova as the only counterpart, e-retailers can get a payment guarantee for 21 payment options with credit cards, debit cards and Internet banks, in 12 languages with 12 currencies in a security-certified interface (PCI). Consumers can also open a Paynova account to make purchases simple and secure, as well as look after transfers between family members, friends and acquaintances. Paynova has agreements with around 1 800 e-retailers. Most are found in the following prioritised segments: travel, retail and media/network games. The company has been listed on NGM Equity since February 2004.
For further information, visit: www.paynova.com.
ABOUT CRD
‘China Virtual Economy District’ will play a leading role in the global virtual economy industry. With a series of trading rules and data exchange standards, virtual enterprises with different resources and advantages can cooperate and help each other to increase their ability to do business. ‘China Virtual Economy District’ is creating an extensive, brand new platform for traditional enterprises, internet companies and individuals to participate in. This means that the dream of the interconnection of the virtual world with the real world will come true, and the new generation of culture originality of CRD is started. This is also a giant step in the promotion of industry infrastructure for the Beijing Shijing district.
For further information, visit: www.crd.gov.cn/en/index.asp