VentureTech, GameCasters Near Close of Deal
VentureTech, Inc. has just completed its purchase of GameCasters, Inc. by acquiring all of the company's outstanding common shares and 60 percent of its preferred shares. As part of the deal, VentureTech issued 20,000,000 restricted common shares, 10,000,000 restricted preferred shares and 20,000,000 preferred share warrants. Preferred share warrants have a five year term with an exercise price of US$.50 and are convertible into 10 common shares. In turn, VentureTech acquired 4 million preferred shares of GameCasters from a GameCasters shareholder in consideration for the assignment of all CyberDome Entertainment Inc. indebtedness to the company, totaling approximately US$232,000.
GameCasters owns a large variety of video gaming equipment, certain intellectual property rights and a proprietary CyberTrak technology that is designed for use in family entertainment centers and video arcades. The equipment is currently located at Cyberdome Entertainment, Inc., a family entertainment center located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. GameCasters provides the equipment and the use of its other assets in exchange for a major share of the total revenue generated from the Cyberdome operation. Cyberdome has also agreed to participate in the GameCasters Players Club, a membership based organization that intends to operate both online and offline in order to provide members with discounted interactive entertainment opportunities at affiliated online and offline partner sites.
Dotcom 2000 Private Placement Completed
Dotcom 2000 Inc. has completed the first tranche of its private placement financing intended to raise gross proceeds of $675,000. Further tranches are expected
to close in the next two weeks bringing the aggregate gross proceeds raised to approximately $1.8 million. The financing involves the issue of common shares and share purchase warrants at a price of $0.20 for one common share and one-half of one share purchase warrant. Each whole share purchase warrant entitles the holder to purchase one additional common share at a price of $0.30 per share from closing until February 14, 2002. An aggregate of 3,375,000 common shares and 1,687,500 common share purchase warrants were issued in the tranche that just closed. Insiders of Dotcom purchased 187,500 common shares and 93,750 share purchase warrants. Assuming the financing is fully subscribed, Dotcom intends to use $1.5 million of the aggregate proceeds raised in the financing to repay outstanding loans and $300,000 of such proceeds for general corporate expenditures.
Execs Foresee Bright Future for TAB Ltd.
Australian betting and gaming company TAB Ltd. reported a good year in 2000, with net profits up more than 32 percent during the second half of the year. Managing Director Warren Wilson, in an interview with the Australian Financial Review, said the company's off-course turnover, accounting for 93.4 per cent of the TAB's total turnover, had increased only 3.2 percent. He attributed improved margins to the improved half year result. Wagering brought in $367.7 million during the year's second half, compared to $351.1 million for the same period the year before. Wilson also said that the TAB Internet wagering site will be made available in 16 languages over the course of the next year's time.
Zetters Fails to Beat the Odds
Despite efforts to succeed in a dwindling football pools market dominated by competitor Littlewoods, Zetters Group has fought long and hard to succeed. Their battle, however, has not brought success. Instead, the company faces financial losses along with a falling share price, mainly attributable to its very efforts to find success. Last year's reverse takeover of IFX, a currency market maker, failed to add to the company's bottom line. The company's financials, showing major losses from its trading performance in foreign exchanges, caused share prices to plummet losing nearly £12 million in stock value.
"Market making can at times be volatile and results can, accordingly, be difficult to forecast," admitted company CEO Graham Wellesley in an interview with CityWire. After reaching a high of 382 pence last year, the company's stock has taken a beating, falling to 129n pence last week, a 56 pence plunge leaving the stock an unpalatable buy for many. Of course, a quick look at the company's finances is sure to add to the general doom and gloom picture, since profits have plummeted from £3.6 million in mid-1997 to a substantially lower £120,000 last time.
Financial Reports Released