No, this is not another April fools gag. CGI Holding Corporation will merge, through two wholly owned subsidiaries, with privately held Vintacom Media Group and Real Estate School Online. Vintacom owns The Relationship Exchange. CGI Holding will change it’s name to Think Partnership Inc. (AMEX: -THK; “Company”). The Company expects to pay an aggregate of $4.95 million in cash and $4.95 million in stock to acquire the two companies. The shareholders of Vintacom and Real Estate School Online will also be entitled to certain earnout/lookback payments if the pre-tax earnings of the companies exceed specified targets during the first twelve full calendar quarters following the closings. The Company expects the two acquisitions to add a total of $3.2 million dollars to its pre-tax income annually, and to be immediately accretive to earnings.
Vintacom is know for it’s innovative network of affiliated dating sites, where independent publishers enjoy one of the Internet’s largest databases of personal ads as well as world-class online dating technology and services. Brad Hogg, the president and CEO of Vintacom, will continue to lead the business after the closing.
Scott Mitchell, the CEO of the Company’s Cherish:
We believe that Vintacom represents a phenomenal opportunity to build value for Think Partnership through expanding our online dating services, affiliate marketing expertise, technology innovation and our international presence. Brad Hogg and his talented team of professionals at Vintacom will be tremendous additions to our successful growth strategy in the online dating vertical. This acquisition represents a considerable step toward making us one of the world’s largest and most innovative online dating companies.
Brad Hogg, the CEO of Vintacom:
Think Partnership’s vision of a decentralized, collaborative partnership of profitable, entrepreneur-driven online companies is very consistent with the corporate culture which has allowed Vintacom to grow into one of the worldwide leaders in online dating. We see great potential for immediate synergy between ourselves, Cherish, WebSourced, PrimaryAds and KowaBunga. Think Partnership is emerging as a dynamic online leader and we want to be part of it.
Think Partnerships is shaping up to be an interesting Keiretsu of sorts and this a big deal for a number of reasons and I’ll be digging into the details as they become public. For instance, how much did Vintacom get out of the $4.95M in stock and cash? How will Think Partnership offer it’s various services to Vintacom customers? How will the price effect the Spark Networks IPO?
