news articles 16 march 2005

[Inside Australian Idol]

Murmurs . . .
March 16, 2005

AUDIENCES who forked out to see Australia's first Idol Guy Sebastian in concert at the Star City Showroom last weekend should have saved their $50.

After his gig on Saturday night, Sebastian headed upstairs to Astral for a post-show drink with a couple of mates. Someone in the bar asked the 'Fro for a tune or two and Sebastian obliged putting on a 45 minute impromptu concert with one of his mates on the piano and the other singing back-up.

SPOTTED: Russell Crowe in baseball cap, driving his black Bentley into Macleay St Potts Point Monday afternoon . . . Nicole Kidman buying oysters, prawns and calamari from Claudio's Seafoods at the Sydney Fish Markets late Monday afternoon . . . Unfunny man Craig "Boo" McLachlan having a carrot, apple and celery juice at Milson Point's Cafe Impromptu yesterday

WHAT is it with Sydney identities and disobeying road rules? Justin Hemmes disregards disabled signs, Reba Meagher's driver ignores No Stopping signs and Rodney Adler's antics at Bondi Beach at the weekend were no better. We'll put the fact he crossed double unbroken white lines down to his confusion when attempting to unlock the wrong car (Confidential, yesterday) after a Saturday lunch on Campbell Parade, though we somehow doubt he'd be particularly worried about that breach of the law.

ANTHONY MUNDINE appears to have a soft spot for Australian Idol. He featured as a rapper on Joel Turner's song Knock You Out (and also in the video clip) and popped up at the launch of 2003 finalist Rebecca LaVauney's debut single Heading in the Right Direction.


www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1266&storyid=2815230

[Inside Australian Idol]

Photon in $25m bid for Legion
By Wendy Frew
March 16, 2005

Tim Hughes's Photon Group has tapped into the booming mobile phone marketing sector with a $25 million cash-and-scrip purchase of the No.1 player, Legion Interactive.

Mr Hughes said the deal could push Photon's annualised revenue well above $100 million and its earnings above $20 million, and could be a precursor to other acquisitions in the market.

Downloading of ring tones, mobile phone "wallpaper" and games have proved popular with under 35-year-olds, while the use of so-called interactive promotions using premium-priced SMS has boomed since the advent of reality TV programs such as Big Brother and Australian Idol.

"In terms of interactivity, I think it is here to stay," Mr Hughes said. "That's going to be a growing sector. I have been trying to find the best in that field and I think these guys are," he said.

Photon's shares rallied 10c to a record high of $3.35 on news of the purchase, the company's third acquisition since it listed last April.

Legion, at the time UK owned, entered Australia in 1993 in a joint venture with the Seven Network before a management buyout in 2001.

Photon is paying $17.45 million in cash for the group, issuing 1.7 million Photon shares worth about $5 million, and will make extra payments tied to Legion's earnings to June 30, 2007.

Photon will provide Legion, which already earns revenue of about $25 million a year, with capital to grow the business and possibly buy some of its competitors.

"We are trying to create some pillars in our business - interactive communications and marketing for one, research is another, and sales promotion and merchandising is a third," said Mr Hughes, who has not ruled out more Photon acquisitions.

With the number of 14 to 17-year-olds in Australia who have mobile phones expected to rise from 745,000 to 1 million this year, ring tones and wallpaper downloads have proved lucrative for Legion.

But mobile phone games have proved the star performer, with downloads from its services soaring 400 per cent in the 12 months to December 2004.


www.smh.com.au/news/Business/Photon-in-25m-bid-for-Legion/2005/03/15/1110649198744.html