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PR Newswire Acquires Full Rights to Xinhua PR Newswire and Additional Xinhua Finance Businesses in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan

2008-11-21 19:19

    BEIJING, Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- PR Newswire today announced a definitive agreement with Xinhua Finance ("XFL", TSE Mothers: 9399 and OTC: XHFNY), under which PR Newswire has acquired Xinhua PR Newswire (XPRN), the first and largest corporate announcement distribution service in China, as well as Xinhua Finance's corporate announcement businesses in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan.

    To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/prnewswire/36101/

    XPRN was established as a marketing alliance between Xinhua Finance and PR Newswire to bring global best practices of corporate announcement distribution and corporate transparency to China. Under the terms of the original joint marketing agreement, Xinhua Finance was responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of XPRN, while PR Newswire provided the distribution platform, marketing and strategic direction.

    The acquisition of XPRN transitions all management and operation of the corporate sponsored announcement distribution service to PR Newswire, including all employees and associated customer relationships, customers and other contracts, office space, and operational processing. All executive and senior management, including John Williams, managing director, and Yujie Chen, director, XPRN - PRC, will remain in their current positions. In conjunction with the acquisition, XPRN will be re-branded as PR Newswire Asia.  The businesses' executives and senior management will remain in their current positions. In total, the combined operations employ around 50 people.

    "Success in China requires a mix of determination, commitment and continued flexibility in adapting to local needs and expectations. PR Newswire Asia's knowledge of the China business and media communities will enable it to continue to employ such strategies in order to meet the market's increasing maturity and demands," said Williams, who established the business in Beijing in 2002 and quickly expanded across China.

    "The strategy behind XPRN was simple and extremely effective -- unite Xinhua Finance's position as premier financial information service with PR Newswire's expertise and reputation as the global leader in corporate announcement distribution," said Charles Gregson, chief executive officer of PR Newswire. "In less than six years since its launch, XPRN, now PR Newswire Asia, has grown to become an essential messaging conduit in China, allowing companies, both public and private, to openly communicate their messages to investors and media in China and around the world. Today's acquisition offers a significant step forward for PR Newswire Asia and the companies it serves. Merging with PR Newswire's global operations will allow us to create opportunities to introduce new communications tools to China's business community, including broadcast and video services, ProfNet, media monitoring and EDGAR filing, while enhancing the marketing, customer service, and operational efficiencies of the entire business unit."

    As China's largest corporate announcement distribution service, PR Newswire Asia provides a gateway for companies to communicate with a network of more than 9,000 journalists representing some 3,000 agencies in China. Further, utilizing PR Newswire's global distribution network, PR Newswire Asia also enables companies to connect with tens of thousands of media points in 170 countries in 40 languages, as well as to over one million investors worldwide.

    For China-based companies already listed or planning to list on stock exchanges in the United States or elsewhere, PR Newswire Asia assists companies to ensure full compliance with mandatory disclosure requirements by delivering every announcement to the "disclosure" media designated by NYSE, AMEX, NASDAQ and LSE. As of today, PR Newswire Asia has captured more than 95 percent of the ADR market in China.

    "PR Newswire Asia's ability to deliver corporate announcements directly to media, individual and institutional investors, and the general public in China offers companies around the world the ability to establish and reinforce their brands with an audience that is increasingly hungry for Western messaging," remarked Yujie Chen, director of PR Newswire Asia. "An important reason for our success over the past six years has been our ability to build direct, one-on-one relationships with thousands of media outlets throughout China. These media relations efforts have been crucial to broadening and deepening the reach of PR Newswire Asia as a trusted source of corporate announcements. We look forward to working with PR Newswire's global media relations division to further this success and extend PR Newswire Asia's reputation as an essential source of corporate messages in China."

                                                 

John Williams, Managing Director of PR Newswire Asia                      Yujie Chen, Director of PR Newswire Asia

 



    About PR Newswire Asia (formerly Xinhua PR Newswire)

    PR Newswire Asia assists companies and organizations in delivering their announcements to the media, individual and institutional investors, and the general public worldwide, with clipping, monitoring, measurement and media intelligence services. Utilizing PR Newswire's global distribution network, PR Newswire Asia can send clients' announcements to 170 countries in 40 languages. Visit http://www.prnchina.com for further information.

    About Xinhua Finance Limited

    Xinhua Finance Limited ("XFL") is a premier financial information provider and is listed on the Mothers Board of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (symbol: 9399) (OTC ADRs: XHFNY). Xinhua Finance's proprietary content platform, comprising Indices, Ratings, Financial News, and Investor Relations, serves financial institutions, corporations and re-distributors worldwide. For more information, please visit http://www.xinhuafinance.com .

    About PR Newswire

    PR Newswire Association LLC ( http://www.prnewswire.com/ ) provides electronic distribution, targeting, measurement and broadcast services on behalf of tens of thousands of corporate, government, association, labor, non-profit, and other customers worldwide. Using PR Newswire, these organizations reach a variety of critical audiences including the news media, the investment community, government decision-makers, and the general public with their up-to-the-minute, full-text news developments.

    Established in 1954, PR Newswire has offices in 14 countries and routinely sends its customers' announcements to outlets in more than 170 countries and in more than 40 languages. Utilizing the latest in communications technology, PR Newswire content is considered a mainstay among news reporters, investors and individuals who seek breaking announcements from the source. PR Newswire's leading services include ProfNet(SM), eWatch(TM), MEDIAtlas(TM), Search Engine Optimization, MediaRoom, MediaSense(TM), MultiVu(TM), U.S. Newswire, the preeminent policy newswire in the industry, Vintage Filings, the fastest growing Edgar filing company, and Hispanic PR Wire, LatinClips and Hispanic Digital Network, the foremost Hispanic communications services. PR Newswire is a subsidiary of United Business Media Limited, a leading global business media company that serves professional commercial communities around the world. For more information, go to www.unitedbusinessmedia.com.

    About United Business Media Limited ( http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com )

    United Business Media Limited (UBM) is a global media and marketing services company that informs markets and brings the world's buyers and sellers together at events, online, in print, and with the information they need to do business successfully. UBM serves professional and commercial communities, from IT professionals to doctors, from journalists to jewelry dealers, from farmers to pharmacists around the world. UBM employs more than 6,500 people in more than 30 countries. UBM's businesses operating in the US include CMPMedica, Commonwealth Business Media, Everything Channel, PR Newswire, RISI, TechInsights, TechWeb and Think Services. UBM is listed on the London Stock Exchange (UBM.L) and has a market capitalization of $2.5 billion.

SOURCE  PR Newswire Asia