MISSISSAUGA, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 18, 1996--Landmark Communications, Inc. (Landmark) and Pelmorex Inc. (Pelmorex) announced today that The Weather Channel, Inc. (TWC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Landmark, has acquired a significant interest in Pelmorex.
As a result of the investment,
TWC has acquired shares of Pelmorex constituting a 50% equity and 29.9% voting interest. Pierre Morrissette, President and CEO of Pelmorex, continues to hold voting control of Pelmorex.
Landmark owns Atlanta-based TWC, the largest 24-hour weather programming service in the world. TWC also operates weather programming services in the U.K., Scandinavian and Benelux, and has investments in a German language weather network serving Germany, Austria and Switzerland. TWC will also be launching a Latin America service on Oct. 1, 1996.
Pelmorex, based in Mississauga, Ontario, operates The Weather Network and MeteoMedia, English and French weather specialty services based in Montreal, Quebec. Pelmorex also has investments in La Chaine Meteo in France, The Weather Network in the U.K. and The Weather Network Italy which is to be launched later this year.
"We are excited about our investment in Pelmorex," said John O. Wynne, President and CEO of Landmark. "This alliance will allow us to rapidly develop the international weather programming services market."
"We are pleased to welcome Landmark as a shareholder in Pelmorex," says Pierre Morrissette. "The combination of our respective resources should allow us to accelerate our international expansion plans while enhancing our domestic activities as well." "Our international joint venture will draw on the programming, marketing and technological expertise from both organizations," said Mike Eckert, President and CEO of TWC, "which will enhance the market leadership position of this international weather programming services venture."
United Video Satellite Group had announced its intention to make an investment in Pelmorex. Following that announcement, Pelmorex received an unsolicited proposal from Landmark. United Video determined to terminate further discussion with Pelmorex. Subsequent discussions between Pelmorex and Landmark led to the transaction which was completed today.
Landmark is a privately held media company with interests in seven daily newspapers, more than 30 non-daily newspapers, special publications, television broadcasting and cable television programming, radio weather reporting, and other video enterprises.
Publishing and Video Group operations include: The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.), Greensboro News & Record (Greensboro, N.C.), and Roanoke Times & World-News (Roanoke, Va.); special publications including Antique Trader magazine; The Weather Channel(R), Networks; The Travel Channel (R) Networks KLAS-TV (Las Vegas, Nev.), and WTVF-TV (Nashville, Tenn.). Landmark owns 50% of Trader Publishing Co. which publishes weekly and monthly photo guides and classified publications. It also is a partner with Knight-Ridder and Gannett in InfiNet, an internet access provider and electronic publishing company.
Pelmorex's programming services are distributed to eight million cable subscribers, or 95% of the Canadian cable market. Pelmorex also supplies weather-related information to the emerging interactive market as well as operating "theweathernetwork.com" service, a web site offering global weather information. Pelmorex is also Canada's leading supplier of weather information to the radio and newspaper industries as well as offering a 1-900 telephone service. Additionally, Pelmorex operates a Radio Services Division consisting primarily of the Pelmorex Radio Network, the dominant Canadian distributor of block programming and syndicated features serving over half of the radio stations in Canada.
CONTACT: Pelmorex
Pierre L. Morrissette, 905/566-9511
or
The Weather Channel
Kathy Lane, 770/801-2102