Acquisition of Australian licensee
Key management hires in Australia and United Kingdom
03 July 2006
Hot Tuna (International) PLC (AIM:HTT), a lifestyle apparel brand with authentic surf heritage, is pleased to announce the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Hot Tuna Holdings Pty Ltd. The purchase of Hot Tuna Holdings Pty Ltd is part of the Company’s overall strategy of acquiring all the licensing rights in the Hot Tuna brand in its core markets.
The Company has entered into an unconditional contract to acquire the entire issued share capital of Hot Tuna Holdings Pty Ltd from MCU Pty Ltd (“MCU”). Prior to this sale, MCU assigned to Hot Tuna Holdings Pty Ltd its exclusive right and licence to use Hot Tuna trade marks and intellectual property in connection with designing, manufacturing, advertising, promoting, distributing and selling certain licensed products including apparel and accessories in Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, Fiji, New Caledonia and Samoa. Such assignment also included a non-exclusive right and licence with respect to the territories of Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Tahiti , China, Japan and Korea.
In consideration of the purchase of Hot Tuna Holdings Pty Ltd, the Company has agreed to allot and issue 400,000 ordinary shares (the “Consideration Shares”) in the Company to MCU (or the person it nominates). MCU has nominated Delstar International Limited to be allotted the Consideration Shares. The Company and MCU have also agreed to a mutual release and compromise of any sum owed pursuant to or arising from a licence agreement between the Company and MCU by way of settlement of their dispute concerning such sum owed. Application has been made for the Consideration Shares to be admitted to AIM. Dealings are expected to commence on 7 July 2006.
Commenting on the acquisition, Ranjit Murugason, Chairman of Hot Tuna, said: “The acquisition of Hot Tuna Holdings Pty Ltd continues our strategy of gaining direct ownership over the Hot Tuna brand in key global markets. The Company is now in a position where it owns the brand in all its key markets. The Australian and New Zealand markets, where Hot Tuna has a strong following, represent excellent opportunities to further develop Hot Tuna's brand. I am confident that our position in these markets will deliver meaningful results for shareholders in the future.”
“Hot Tuna is now in a position where we have an extremely strong operational management team, hired from several of the world’s major surf and youth fashion brands, with a proven track record within our industry.”
Key management hire in Australia
The Company is also pleased to announce that, as part of its strategy and to strengthen its Australian operation, it has set up a new company, Hot Tuna Australia Pty Ltd (“Hot Tuna Australia”), which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. In connection with this, it has appointed Dean Harrigan as the Chief Operating Officer of Hot Tuna Australia.
Dean Harrigan founded Liquid Culture in 1988. Liquid Culture is well known among its peers as one of the most successful surf and street wear distributors in Australia. Liquid Culture's biggest success was the relaunch of “Bad Boy”, which expanded so rapidly that it held onto a substantial share of the surf market for over ten years. Other successful international label relaunches by Dean Harrigan include “Ocean Pacific”, a leading international surf brand, into Myer Department Stores and “The Realm” into the DDS (discount) department stores.
Liquid Culture, headed by Dean Harrigan, is one of the few surf and street wear distributors that have been successful in both specialty and discount department stores which requires developing an infrastructure that can handle diversity as well as supply and delivery demands and maintain margins at lower retail price points.
The skills and experience that Dean Harrigan brings to Hot Tuna Australia will allow Hot Tuna to reach its full potential in the Asia Pacific region. Commenting on his appointment, Dean Harrigan said: “I am very excited about taking on the role of Chief Operating Officer of Hot Tuna Australia. Hot Tuna is held in high esteem in the surf community and represents a certain part of Aussie culture. Its rich history is fused with so many elements that young contemporary designers are excited to redesign. We have developed a very commercial line that will be launched into the high end surf market in summer 2006. The philosophy is simple: higher margins to retailers, competitive pricing to the major surf brands.”
Commenting on the appointment, Ranjit Murugason, Chairman of Hot Tuna, said: “The appointment of Dean Harrigan as Chief Operating Officer of Hot Tuna Australia is another significant hire for Hot Tuna. Dean has an impressive track record in our industry. His involvement will ensure that the Company is in the best position to build a solid base from which to grow in the Australian market, which is where the Hot Tuna brand was originally formed in 1969. I am confident that our roots and heritage in this market will enable the Company to take market share from our competitors.”
Key management hire in United Kingdom
The Company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Chris Dewbury as Chief Operations Officer of Hot Tuna (UK) Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. Chris will be responsible for re-establishing the Hot Tuna brand in the UK and will have a key role in implementing the global business and brand development strategy for driving sales.
Chris Dewberry is an active and passionate sportsman, full of drive and ambition, who has nearly 20 years' experience within the extreme sports and lifestyle industry in Europe. Chris started out as a ski instructor based in Europe for several years, before going on to work for brands including Head, Lange and Dynastar. Subsequently, Chris spent 8 years at Quiksilver where he was part of the strategic management team based in the UK which drove the business from small beginnings to such a position of strength in the surf lifestyle market in the UK such that the UK became the number two country in Europe for Quiksilver in terms of profitability, sales, and brand positioning.
More recently Chris was the sales director for Musto, where he headed up the sales division for sailing and country sports and built a strong sales team developing ranges to maximise sales and increase the brand profile.
Commenting on his appointment, Chris Dewbury said: “I am looking forward to taking on the role of COO for the UK and re-establishing the Hot Tuna brand which is one of the oldest and most credible surf brands.”
Commenting on the appointment, Ranjit Murugason, Chairman of Hot Tuna, said: “Chris’ wealth of experience within the European extreme sports and lifestyle industry will help accelerate Hot Tuna’s development in this important market. Chris was instrumental at Quiksilver and played a key role in developing the UK operation into Quiksilver’s second most important regional division in Europe. With his exceptional contacts with buyers, Chris is well positioned to drive sales in the UK and I am confident that he will make a valuable contribution to the Company.”
For further information:
| Hot Tuna (International) PLC | |
| Ranjit Murugason, Chairman | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7372 9378 |
| ranjit_murugason@hottunaplc.com | |
| Seymour Pierce Limited | |
| Sarah Wharry / Parimal Kumar | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7107 8000 |
| parimalkumar@seymourpierce.com | www.seymourpierce.com |
Media Enquiries:
| Abchurch | |
| Henry Harrison-Topham / Chris Lane | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 7700 |
| henry.ht@abchurch-group.com | www.abchurch-group.com |
Notes to Editors
Hot Tuna (International) PLC (AIM: HTT) owns the rights to the Hot Tuna brand, a progenitor of global youth fashion, born in Australia with a heritage of authentic surf culture.
Hot Tuna is one of the world’s most iconic names in surf lifestyle and can trace its roots back to 1969 when it was founded by a surfer and his fashion designer wife. The label has not been actively marketed over for the last decade, but has maintained an organic cult status among the core surf and sports enthusiasts.
In June 2005, Hot Tuna (International) PLC purchased the ‘Hot Tuna’ brand from a consortium of investors, listed it on AIM in September 2005, and has since started to aggressively market the brand and reinvigorate the business. The Company now owns all intellectual property rights to its name and related iconography, and has in place key management drawn from the executive ranks of Quiksilver, O’Neill and Ocean Pacific, among others.
While headquartered in the UK, Hot Tuna operates its design, manufacturing, marketing and distribution hub in the USA. Hot Tuna sells product, which it directly manufactures in facilities in the USA, the European Union and in China.
Hot Tuna maintains offices in Sydney, Los Angeles and London.