Back to press releasesNEWARK, NJ, November 3, 2005 — IDT Entertainment today announced that it has agreed to acquire a major Australian-based independent distributor of theatrical, video, and DVD product, Imagine Entertainment. Imagine will benefit from the assets and worldwide recognition of IDT Entertainment’s home entertainment subsidiary, Anchor Bay, an established leader in the field that boasts an expansive selection of theatrical films, television series, and children’s and fitness titles. The acquisition is expected to close during November. IDT Entertainment is a subsidiary of IDT Corporation (NYSE:IDT, IDT.C), an international telecom, entertainment, and technology company.
“This acquisition is the perfect example of our overall business strategy,” said Morris Berger, CEO, IDT Entertainment. “In just over three years, we have become a global entertainment force with proven strength in the technology, production, and distribution of entertainment product. This acquisition completes IDT Entertainment’s expansion into virtually all English-speaking territories. It also provides additional consumer outlets for our burgeoning catalogue of entertainment assets.”
Established in 2001, Imagine Entertainment distributes award-winning home entertainment product to both the Australian and New Zealand rental and retail marketplaces. Led by Managing Director John Vale and Marketing Director Marilyn Greig, the company’s releases include the Sundance Film Festival “Grand Jury Prize,” documentary finalist “Unknown White Male,” the romantic comedy, “Marilyn Hotchkiss’ Ballroom Dancing and Charm School,” which stars Marisa Tomei, Robert Carlyle, Danny DeVito, John Goodman, and Sean Astin, the outrageous “Zombie Honeymoon” and the new clay-animated comedy, “Disaster.” Imagine’s current slate includes additional seasons of the hit prime-time series “C.S.I.,” the Emmy Award-winning telefilm “Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows,” the “Doc Martin and Wrong Coast” TV series and the Kid Tuff banner, which includes the IDT Entertainment titles, “Popeye’s Voyage” and “Inspector Gadget’s Biggest Caper Ever.” Future rental releases include the Michael Keaton-starrer, “Game 6” and the Edward Furlong thriller, “Cruel World.”
“IDT Entertainment is the perfect home for Imagine Entertainment,” stated Mr. Vale. “We expect our position in the marketplace to expand rapidly based on Anchor Bay’s aggressive acquisition strategy and premium quality IDT Entertainment properties, such as the highly-anticipated ‘Masters of Horror’ series, Harry Connick Jr.’s ‘Happy Elf,’ the upcoming release of ‘Spawn’ and Rob Zombie’s first animated film, ‘El Superbeasto.'”
“Combining John Vale’s experience with Anchor Bay’s existing product and IDT Entertainment’s strength will produce excellent opportunities in this market over the next few years,” said Ted Green, CEO, Anchor Bay Entertainment.
IDT Entertainment is a vertically integrated entertainment company that develops, produces, and distributes proprietary and licensed entertainment content. IDT Entertainment is a subsidiary of IDT Corporation (NYSE:IDT, IDT.C), an international telecom, entertainment, and technology company.
Anchor Bay Entertainment, an IDT Entertainment company, is an established leader in the field of home entertainment. The company offers an expansive selection of award-winning, notable theatrical films including “Time Bandits” and “Halloween,” classic television programming such as “Roseanne,” “3rd Rock from the Sun,” “Three’s Company,” “Highlander” and much of the Stephen J. Cannell library, traditional children’s fare featuring the ever-popular Thomas & Friends collection and Mister Rogers Neighborhood, the impressive Manga anime line and chart-topping fitness titles including the “Crunch” and “For Dummies” series. Anchor Bay Entertainment is aggressively developing a wide range of original programs and concepts in addition to licensing existing brands and films.
Important Note: In this press release, all statements that are not purely about historical facts, including, but not limited to, those with the words “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate, “target” and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. While these forward-looking statements represent IDT’s current judgment of what may happen in the future, actual results may differ materially from the results expressed or implied by these statements due to numerous important factors, including, but not limited to, those described in IDT’s most recent report on SEC Form 10-K (under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”), which may be revised or supplemented in subsequent reports on SEC Forms 10-Q and 8-K and other filings IDT may make with the SEC.
