Article Excerpt:
TWST: What is IA Global?Mr. Scott: IA Global is a public holding company. We trade on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol IAO. Our primary interests are located in Japan. The company was formed in 1998. It was a media streaming company. The majority shareholder, Inter Asset Japan, acquired its majority ownership in late 2002. Since that time, we've refocused the business on acquiring and growing Japanese businesses that operate in the small and mid-cap sized area in the gaming, entertainment and technology sectors that we can acquire at low acquisition costs.
TWST: What do you see as your overall marketplace? What are the dynamics
that you are seeing as far as your business and your competitors?
Mr. Scott: IA Global has two interests at this point. We own a 60.5%
interest in Rex Tokyo Co Ltd, which operates in the gaming industry in
Japan. The gaming industry in Japan is roughly a $260 billion industry.
Rex Tokyo is a supplier and installer of parts to the gaming industry.
We acquired that business on March 18, 2004, for approximately $1.1
million. On a pro forma basis for the year ending December 31, 2004, the
total revenues were $33.6 million, and it was a nice, profitable year.
Our second company, that we bought on June 15, 2005, is called Global
Hotline. Global Hotline operates in the telecommunication business as a
reseller of broadband and telephone lines in Japan. The Japanese
telecommunications market is a sizable one. It's divided up among three
principal players. Global Hotline has two contracts with KDDI, a
significant Japanese telecommunications company. One of the contracts is
roughly $7.6 million at current exchange rates, and covers the period
through September 30, 2005. The second contract covers the period of
March 16, 2005, through March 31, 2006, and that contract value is $26.4
million at the current exchange rates. If we do not hit the targets that
are in the contracts, we have to rebate back some of the money to KDDI.
The telecommunications market in Japan is experiencing the kinds of
evolution that we saw in the US in 1996 with alternative carriers able
to steal market share from the predominant player.
Tickers included in this excerpt: IAO
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