Hollywood Media Sells Hollywood.com Unit To Its Own Chairman; Up To $10 Million, Mostly Earnout
This story was written by Joseph Weisenthal.
An odd deal on multiple fronts Hollywood Media (NSDQ: HOLL), the entertainment news and ticketing firm, is selling its flagship unit/domain, Hollywood.com. The buyer is R&S Investments, a firm controlled by the company's own chairman and CEO Mitchell Rubenstein and president Laurie Silvers. The price is up to $10 million, but $9 million of that is earnout, with just $1 million paid upfront. The company will also get paid if R&S sells Hollywood.com before the earnout period is complete. Despite the name, the release notes that Hollywood.com represents just 4 percent of revenue, and was a major money loser ($2.5 million) for the last 12 months. Basically, it looks like there's more value there as a premium domain, than as a lower-tier ticketing and showtime site. Going forward, the company will focus on its Broadway ticketing business, as well as UK's CinemasOnline. Release.
By Joseph Weisenthal