Moderated By: Dorine Essey -- (Not Moderated) -- Started: 4/14/1999 4:43:00 PM Revision History
Motorcyles Centers of America AcquiresEntertainment Universe / eUniverse.com
April 14, 1999 04:26 PM
INGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 14, 1999--Motorcycle Centers of America Inc. MCAMD today announced the completion of the acquisition of Entertainment Universe Inc. (http://www.eUniverse.com), which in turn has simultaneously closed on the acquisition of CD Universe Inc. (http://www.cduniverse.com, videouniverse.com)  and rased $6,500,000 dollars through a private placement led by institutional investors including Lehman Brothers Inc. and Eisenberg Partners L.L.C.
Entertainment Universe (www.eUniverse.com) was acquired by MCAMD in a stock for stock exchange completed via a Plan of Reorganization. Additionally, Entertainment Universe's officers and directors have replaced those of MCAMD. Post acquisition, MCAMD which intends to change its name to eUniverse.com Inc. has 13,738,000 shares outstanding and a float of 1,033,000 shares.
Entertainment Universe Inc. (http://www.eUniverse.com), a privately held California-based Internet company, has made CD Universe Inc. its first acquisition in its plan to build a network of entertainment focused commerce, community, and technology driven Web sites, similar to a strategy being employed by Go2Net Inc. GNET .
CD Universe Inc., based in Wallingford, Conn., is one of the most successful and sophisticated online retailers, selling music, video products, and accessories online since 1996. Through its web sites: www.cduniverse.com and www.videouniverse.com, the company has won numerous awards for customer service. A recent consumer survey released by BizRate, an independent commerce ranking service, rated CD Universe the third best shopping site for customer service on the Internet out of 500 online merchants which included: Amazon AMZN , Cyberian Outpost COOL , Cybershop CYSP , Beyond.com BYND and Egghead EGGS .
With a critical mass of over 275,000 customers, CD Universe is expected to show revenue of over $9,000,000 with a net loss of approximately $500,000 for its most recent fiscal year which recently ended March 31, 1999. For its fiscal year ending March 31, 1998, CD Universe reported audited revenue of $5,685,000 with a net loss of ($113,000).
"The acquisition of CD Universe has provided eUniverse.com with an outstanding e-commerce engine to power our growing entertainment focused web site network. With unmatched customer service, proprietary technology, and its own 7,500 square foot fulfillment center, CD Universe will allow eUniverse.com to successfully implement a wide range of e-commerce opportunities immediately," explained eUniverse.com chairman Brad D. Greenspan.
Charles Beilman, president and founder of CD Universe, now becomes chief operating officer of eUniverse.com.
"I'm very pleased to be part of the outstanding eUniverse.com management team and look forward to helping build the eUniverse.com network," Beilman said.
Entertainment Universe Inc. has raised $6.5 million dollars through the issuance of six percent Series A Convertible Preferred Stock. The Series A Preferred Stock initially converts into common stock at $3.60 per share and cannot be converted for at least 6 months from issuance. Gerard Klauer Mattison & Co. Inc., a New York-based investment banking firm, acted as the placement agent for the transaction. Several principals of Gerard Klauer Mattison & Co. were also prior investors in Entertainment Universe. In addition, Gerard Klauer Mattison & Co. has been retained to provide eUniverse.com with financial and M&A advisory services.
"We are excited that institutional investors such as Lehman Brothers, Inc. and Eisenberg Partners, L.L.C. have found eUniverse.com's story to be so compelling," said Greenspan. "In addition, through our banking relationship with Gerard Klauer Mattison & Co., we will begin to aggressively seek out additional acquisitions for our network. With over $5,000,000 dollars of cash and no debt, we are in excellent shape to execute our business plan. We intend to file our Form 10-SB as soon as possible and upon effectiveness will immediately seek to become listed on the Nasdaq exchange."
About Gerard Klauer & Co., Inc.
Gerard Klauer Mattison & Co., Inc. is a New York-based institutional research and investment banking firm that provides a full range of investment banking services. Gerard Klauer Mattison has 16 research analysts covering over 180 companies with a focus on media, entertainment, and technology. Gerard Klauer Mattison has branch offices in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Tel Aviv.
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