Masterfile’s European Operations acquired by Mediapro

Masterfile divests European operations in favour of strategic alliance  Masterfile Corporation (“MFC”) - a global licensor of premium stock images - has sold 100% of the shares of its European operations to Mediapro Mediamarketing GmbH of Vienna, Austria. The transaction which closed on April 30th includes Masterfile companies in France, Germany, Italy and the UK (collectively “Masterfile Europe”).The financial terms of the transaction are confidential but involve no exchange of equity between MFC and Mediapro. Under the terms of the deal:• Mediapro, operating as Masterfile Europe, will manage client relationships, business development and sales for the Masterfile brand in Europe.• Masterfile Europe will continue to showcase, license and deliver image content exclusively through the Masterfile website at www.masterfile.com under license from MFC. Website development and management will remain the domain of MFC.• MFC will continue to contract with and manage all relationships with image suppliers and will be responsible for payment to them. The calculation of royalties to Masterfile image suppliers will be unchanged by this transaction.Says Masterfile President, Steve Pigeon: “At a time when the image licensing business is going through massive changes, we were spreading ourselves too thinly. We welcomed the opportunity to reduce global operating costs and concentrate our resources on enriching our global content offering and client development in North America while relying on a strong strategic partner to increase European sales and help us to build royalty income for our artists and other content suppliers.”The new alliance is based on a solid business relationship: Mediapro affiliates under CEO Alfred Höfinger have licensed Masterfile images for more than 10 years through companies in Austria, Switzerland and South-Eastern Europe with legal entities based in Vienna, Zurich, Zagreb and Sofia.Says Mr. Höfinger: “The investment in Masterfile Europe by Mediapro is a strong vote of confidence in the Masterfile brand and our belief in the opportunity for growth of premium image licensing in Europe. Based on a solid infrastructure, excellent product portfolio and years of fruitful cooperation with MFC we will extend the coverage into further territories.”