Datatec Share Discussion Threads

[mercier et camier] 01/1/2006 01:19

Sorry haven't been keeping up to speed on DTC. What's the connection between Sweeney Todd and DTC, is it the throat cutting??

[tonyx] 31/12/2005 18:43

Hi DTC'ers,

Article on Sweeney Todd in the magazine in todays Express. Looks good.

Unfortunately, my 7 year old daughter was reading it over my shoulder and she now won't eat her pie for dinner......

Happy new year to all.

[grant goodwin] 31/12/2005 18:37

Sweeney todd showing on tuesday 3rd Jan BBC1 at 9 Oclock
good write up in pick of the day in todays Daily Mail 4 stars
Happy New year to you all grant

[investorjon] 29/12/2005 20:34

Sweeney Todd trailer looks good and is being played regularly on TV now. Bodes well.

[jlrussell] 29/12/2005 09:06

season's greetings to all.
John.

[jmillskeel] 28/12/2005 19:39

Lets hope we all have a better year next....

[investorjon] 26/12/2005 13:16

Camier: Agreed but doesn't every dog have its day?

[ursamajorra] 24/12/2005 19:16

And a frog is just for standing on

[mercier et camier] 24/12/2005 18:28

A dog is not just for Christmas it's for life.

[grant goodwin] 23/12/2005 12:44

Happy christmas and a prosperous new year to everyone.

[davidcod] 22/12/2005 08:13

F4,

They will have been absorbed into the market.

Regards.

[phantomf4] 22/12/2005 07:05

Dave, Gary

sORRY, trivia question, with these new shares arriving on the market, do they just 'appear' or do they have to be worked through the MM books so to speak.

Thanks in advance

F4

[garysmith7] 21/12/2005 12:25

Good spot Dave

[davidcod] 21/12/2005 10:58

That RNS is misleading (as per usual).

UBS held 4.55% as per 6/July/2005. However, now DTC have increased the number of shares in issue, UBS now hold below 3% of the issued shares.

So it is highly likely they haven't offloaded any at all.

[davidcod] 21/12/2005 10:55

Digital Classics PLC
21 December 2005

Digital Classics PLC ('Digital Classics' or the 'Company')

Holding in Company

The Company received notification on 20 December 2005 that, as at the close of
business on 19 December 2005, UBS AG and its subsidiary companies, ceased to
have a notifiable interest in the Ordinary Shares of 0.1p each of the Company.

[garysmith7] 20/12/2005 22:30

They are releasing tonights ITV prog on Jan 16th

[investorjon] 20/12/2005 15:42

Educational music software is a tough old area to be in, but if anyone from DTC's looking in, might be worth looking at the opposition. The big problems are the freebies. But still scope there for DTC because of the content, which the others have to buy, so scope for sell off of MusicSuite perhaps to one of these (preferably Apple for the crossover business). Note that Apple now offer download of favourite TV shows the day after, for 1.99 dollars, so the roll out of digital distribution content continues unabated, and it is therefore only a matter of time before content creators including Iambic are approached for their input.




CH or DE, if you are looking in take a look at Sibelius and give them an email. It may be in DTC's interest, as Sibelius product is excellent....but they buy in their content and may also be interested in market share via MusicSuite:
[e-mail]

[investorjon] 20/12/2005 15:35

Jabber. You are welcome. Many thanks to all re: My dad. Had his B12 injection today, walks to the local shops and back now. Still very short of energy, and looking very frail...but he is still with us and still fighting.

[jabberstocky] 20/12/2005 13:20

Thanks for your thoughts IJ - Merry Christmas everyone.

[investorjon] 20/12/2005 10:20

Gary: Good point about the caveat and education. I'd like to know the finances of MusicSuite though, but I'm sure CH and DE aren't going to let it bump along without making some changes, and with the acquisitions its a 'watch this space'.

I think DTC has a better balance now, albeit perhaps not bank balance yet, but at least i like the structural movements.

[inkitin] 20/12/2005 00:48

DTCs "Testimony - the story of Shostakovich", release on January 30th.

[garysmith7] 20/12/2005 00:13

IJ,
How much goodwill was in the figure paid I don't know and it's impossible to tell if DTC got a good deal with Box, like you say the purchase seems to dovetail nicely and time will tell.
I would love to know how much revenue they will generate from international sales of Sweeny Todd and the other productions they have been involved in. I guess that will form part of the goodwill value.

C21 media seems to be hailing Sweeny Todd as the flagship programme this Xmas so it must fetch a premium abroad especially as it's associated with the BBC.



I do agree MusicSuite does not look like a core business and there maybe some advantage in selling it off long with the education division, especially with some caveat they use DTC content for future developments.

[investorjon] 19/12/2005 23:18

jabber: No seriously I do think that the purchases address areas that I and others have mentioned before, and because of that I am willing to put aside my concerns over the costs of acquisition, which at first sight look expensive, especially with Box TV, with assets of only £115K.

Yes, I like facts, yes I like figures...but there are occasions when the sum of one part may not equal the cost of that part, but where adding it will complete and fulfil a strategic need out of proportion to both the cost of the parts or the perceived value.

I think both purchases do come into that category. I can hardly post in the past about the need for something like they have purchased, if when they do I criticise and if I was in CH"s shoes on this one I too would have bought them (but perhaps tried to get the price down).

But DTC have bought them and I am genuinely of the opinion that they will transform DTC into the complete player, rather than a niche player.

I can get some really indepth report on Box, but I don't think it is as critical as some of the points I raised in the past, because on the due diligence fronts, they would seem to comply by virtue of the fact that we haven't been given glossed figures for them, we know the 'bad' news, i.e. the costs, the trading record and the assets, up front. So we either like it or we don't, and at first instance they do look too expensive, but that's in the open and correspondingly would seem to qualify under due diligence as basically we know the facts warts and all and my complaints in the past have been about shareholders not being told all the facts.

It's a little bit different to some of my genuine criticisms about undisclosed rather questionable situations, but which have been addressed, and I don't honestly think they apply to these two purchases.

As an analogy to the current situation its almost like a collector who needs two cards only to complete a collection that without them is worth £50,000, but with them is worth £1,000,000, and ends up paying £80,000 for two cards whose book prices may only be £2,000, but where the strategic purchase still makes sense, but where if you look at the individual purchases in isolation you could argue that they were far too expensive, but not on the bigger picture and the sum of the gain for the complete collection.

I also wasn't that keen on the DVD subsidiary because it was rather a niche, whereas now its wide spectrum and where in all likelihood DTC will even keep the distribution in house eventually.

No I had reservations on cost, still do, but I do think that the purchases make complete sense for DTC and I would do the same.

Gary: On MusicSuite, I agree if it is turning a profit then it's not quite as critical, (can we find out as I can't see why DTC wouldn't have such figures, or even why they are not in the accounts already, and they would be able to make them public domain), but then if it were making a profit it would fetch even more money as a going concern carrying a premium, especially to others specialising in education, and where companies like Dorling Kindersley or the BBC may be interested. I just don't think it fits now with the rest of the company which is more and more Iambic propelled, and more and more full media provision/content provision/content creation etc etc., which I think far more likely to get DTC to the big time.

Hopefully it would also address my concerns with regards to CH, as there would be so many more things that CH is good at that he can do now, to keep him occupied more productively and hopefully giving confidence to him and the market, that the best benefit for all is in pushing DTC, so that he and other Directors and shareholders would gain by virtue of a profitable company worth a lot more money and where his shareholding would be worth considerably more than any private deals.