Blinkx is reviving efforts to buy search ad network Miva with a revised offer worth USD19m - or less than half of Blinkx's previous bid. The new offer, for USD0.55 a share, represents a 108% premium over Miva's closing stock price on November 18 and a 39% premium over the firm's average closing price for the previous month.
Blinkx offered around USD40m - USD1.20 per share - to buy Miva in August but withdrew it last month citing disagreements with the Miva board. Shares in Miva have lost 74% of their value in the past 90 days. The firm, which operates a vertical search ad network and a portfolio of consumer sites, has been a loss maker for the past two years. For the quarter ending in September, Miva's revenue was down (for the eighth consecutive quarter) to USD30.2m. By contrast, Blinkx registered a 115% sales jump in the six months to September 30 - compared with the same period last year - as traffic to its site rises
"It's clear that certain emerging sectors of online advertising, specifically video, continue to thrive," says Blinkx CEO Suranga Chandratillake, commenting on the Miva offer. "However, because of Miva's continued loss-making performance and rapidly declining cash position, time is of the essence. We trust that the Miva board will recognize that expediency is critical to realising the benefits of this opportunity."
Chandratillake adds that Blinkx plans to finance the bid through its resources. The offer builds on an existing relationship, which has seen Miva deliver ads on the Blinkx search engine.
