(BSNS WIRE) Global Telemedia to Acquire International Holding Company
Global Telemedia to Acquire International Holding Company
Business Editors
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 4, 1999--
GTMI to Enter Philippine Telecommunications Market
Global Telemedia International, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: GTMI -
news; "GTMI") announced today that it has entered into a preliminary
agreement to acquire Bentley House Furniture Company ("BHFC"), a
Philippine holding company with interests in: telecommunications;
agricultural; mining; timber export; and furniture manufacturing.
When the transaction is complete, the combined company plans to
form The Mindanao Telecommunications Company for the purpose of
providing voice, data and video services, both conventionally and via
the internet, to the major island of Mindanao, population in excess of
16,000,000. The exact time for the introduction of such service was
not disclosed.
Jonathon Bentley-Stevens, BHFC's Chief Executive Officer stated:
"BHFC is located in the "Trade Free Zone" in Mindanao's largest city,
Davao, which is part of the BIMP-EAGA Borderless Trade Agreement
between Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Similar to
NAFTA, BIMP-EAGA serves a combined population of over 400 million
people. We believe that this region is going to enjoy major growth in
the immediate future and we are very satisfied to have forged a
strategic alliance with an emerging communications partner like GTMI.
BHFC has net assets in excess of US$120,000,000. The company is making
those assets available for the purpose of establishing the credit
facilities necessary for the combined companies to realize their new
joint business plan."
Roderick A. McClain, GTMI's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
added: "This acquisition positions the company to introduce new
emerging technologies into areas that presently do not have extensive
infrastructure in place. The acquisition also allows us to immediately
fulfill the financial requirements necessary to proceed with our other
contracts for the marketing of CyberAir Communications, Inc. services
(release -11/09/98) as well as other pending carrier contracts."
BHFC is presently in the process of establishing itself as a
provider of telecommunications in the Philippines through the
introduction of new technologies.
The company also holds all the timber rights on the 60,000 acre
combined plantations of Kapai and Kaics, located in Mindanao, with
combined reserves of more than 1,020,000 cubic meters of Mahogany and
furniture grade hardwoods. These properties have been independently
appraised at a value of US$850,430,577 by a Philippine government
agency; the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR).
These timberland resources are suitable for manufacturing export
quality furniture for hotels and resorts, export grade lumber and
telephone and utility poles.
BHFC has existing facilities for the milling and finishing of raw
timber as well as a "state of the art" furniture facility, designed
and financed with the assistance of Sumitomo Corporation, with whom
BHFC has an international agreement. This factory is believed by the
management of BHFC to be one of the largest and most modern furniture
factories in the Philippines. BHFC has entered into several contracts
with major hotels, in development, to provide them furniture, fixtures
and equipment. BHFC can provide prospective clients services from the
initial designs all the way through complete furnishings and
anticipates great success for this "hospitality division."
Additionally, BHFC has an export guarantee with the Philippine
government in the amount of US$50,000,000 per year to export furniture
and semi-finished timber products under a "Counter Trade" agreement to
offset essential government purchases.
BHFC is headquartered in Makati City, Philippines. The company
has additional offices in Manila, Davao, New York and Brunei.
BHFC will submit certain members of its management team for
election to the Board of Directors of GTMI as well as enlisting two
qualified outside members to the Board of Directors in preparation for
GTMI to seek re-listing for trading on the NASDAQ small cap exchange.
The timing for seeking such relisting has not been determined.
The acquisition is subject to both companies completing
independent due diligence investigations and formal documentation, and
the Company anticipates closing within forty-five days. The terms of
the acquisition were not announced.
GTMI terminated its previously announced acquisition of CIS
Systems because of financial problems and instability in the region
formerly known as the Soviet Union.
Global Telemedia International, Inc. (GTMI) is a full-service
communications company focusing on international communications
networking in emerging countries. The company also holds the necessary
certificates of conveyance with the applicable public service
communications in the Continental United States as well as an
International carriers license (214). Additionally, GTMI is developing
its own proprietary technology to complement these efforts.
The statements contained in this release may contain
forward-looking statements relating to such matters as anticipated
financial performance, business prospects, technological developments,
new products, research and development activities and similar matters.
The Private Securities Reform Act of 1995 provides a safe harbor for
forward-looking statements. In order to comply with the terms of the
safe harbor, the Company notes that a variety of factors could cause
the Company's actual results to differ materially from the anticipated
results of other expenditures expressed in the Company's
forward-looking statements.
--30--et/ny*
CONTACT: GTMI
Mark Wachs, Mark Wachs and Associates, New York
212/832-2800
or
BHFC, Makati City, Philippines
Jonathon Bentley-Stevens, 011-632-810-7776
KEYWORD: NEW YORK GEORGIA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: TELECOMMUNICATIONS
INTERACTIVE/MULTIMEDIA/INTERNET COMED BUILDING/CONSTRUCTION
MERGERS/ACQ
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