Company Information

The Group originated in June 1998 when the domain name of hkcyber.com was registered. In March 1999, the Group commenced developing an informative, interesting and interactive portal covering a range of topics and services and constructing the infrastructure of the website hkcyber.com.

In November 1999, the Group officially launched its website at hkcyber.com which initially covered news, finance, fortune, horse racing, leisure and sports together with community features, namely chat room, free e-mail, interactive stories in which viewers can participate in developing different story lines and message boards.

On 31 July 2000, the Shares was listed on GEM. In January 2002, the Group further expanded its multimedia business in the PRC market by forming a joint venture to provide employment, community services and professional corporate services via service centers and on-line portals.

In May 2002, the Company acquired the entire issued share capital of COAGL from the COAGL Vendors for a consideration of HK$80 million. COAGL and its subsidiaries are principally engaged in the provision of wireless, broadband and multimedia enabling and system integration services in the Asia Pacific region. Following completion of the acquisition of COAGL, the Group has evolved from an on-line multimedia content provider to an enabler in wireless, broadband and multimedia technologies. In May 2002, the name of the Company was changed from hkcyber.com (Holdings) Limited to Cyber On-Air Group Company Limited.

In November 2002, September 2003 and March 2004, the Group discontinued its business of providing advertising platform for internet marketing and E-mall, licensing and subscription of web content and provision of recruitment and corporate services respectively.

In April 2004, Mediastar became the controlling Shareholder upon the issue by the Company of 120,000,000 new Shares to Mediastar at an aggregate subscription amount of HK$120,000,000.

In December 2004, the Company acquired approximately 51.0% of the voting rights in M8 at a total consideration of US$11,626,203. M8 and its subsidiaries are an established independent picture production/distribution group in North America principally engaged in the acquisition, financing, production, and worldwide licensing of theatrical feature films in a variety of genres. Past releases of M8 include the critically acclaimed drama Monster, which stars Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci and was selected as "The Best Film of 2003" by the famous US film critic Roger Ebert whose column is nationally syndicated in the US. For her performance in the film, star Charlize Theron has garnered a myriad of accolades and awards including the prestigious Golden Globe Award for "Best Actress- Drama" and an Academy Award for "Best Actress". Monster was theatrically released in the U.S. by Newmarket Films, and was theatrically released throughout Canada by Remstar/Alliance Atlantis. Other past M8 releases include The I Inside, a suspense thriller starring Ryan Phillippe, Piper Perabo, and Stephen Rea, 11:14, a black comedy starring Hilary Swank, Rachel Leigh Cook, Barbara Hershey, and Patrick Swayze, and the character-driven drama The United States of Leland, starring Kevin Spacey, Don Cheadle, Ryan Gosling, Chris Klein, and Lena Olin.

On 17 December 2004, the name of the Company was changed from Cyber On-Air Group Company Limited to International Entertainment Corporation.

In 2005, the Group expanded its business operations by forming IEC Production Limited ("IECP"), a wholly owned subsidiary of IEC. IECP is divided into a variety of divisions ranging from International, Local & PRC Productions of Concert, TV drama series and Movies.

In 2007, the Group further expanded its business operation in the Record industry with IEC Record Production Company Limited ("IEC Records"). IEC Records with its EC Music label specializes in particular genres of music to provide marketing insight and a brilliant entertaining, informative, and engaging look at popular music.

On 11 October 2007, the Company completed the acquisition of hotel and entertainment operations in the Philippines and Macau. The acquisition involves the purchase of a 51% interest in the Hotel Group in the Philippines and a 40% interest in Arc of Triumph Development Company Limited, a Macau company.

The Hotel Group is the owner of a deluxe casino hotel in Metro Manila, the Philippines consisting of 32-floor luxury hotel tower with over 370 guest rooms and gaming facility.

The principal activity of the Macau company is property investment and its principal asset is a land with an area of approximately 7,128 sq.m. located at Novos Aterros do Porto Exterior (新口岸外港填海區), Macau.

On 27 December 2007, IEC entered into a conditional sale & purchase agreement for the disposal of its entire interest in Cyber On-Air Group Limited. After the completion of the disposal, the Group ceased to carry on the business of provision of network solutions and project services.

On 21 September 2009, L'Arc Macau was opened, it is a landmark complex comprising the high-end residential units, a super-deluxe hotel, casino, commercial units and parking. The hotel is a 5-star hotel with 301 hotel rooms all decorated in European-style and the casino includes over 100 gaming tables and around 400 slot machines.

On 19 March 2010 (Montreal time), the Superior Court of Quebec, Canada, Province of Quebec, District of Montreal issued an order liquidating M8 pursuant to the provisions of the Canada Business Corporations Act. RSM Richter Inc. has been appointed by the Superior Court as liquidator in respect of M8. M8 has ceased to be a subsidiary of the Company immediately after the appointment of the Liquidator in accordance with the relevant accounting standards.

In May 2010, the Company announced that it conditionally agreed to sell its entire equity interest in Fortune Gate Overseas Limited.

On 27 September 2010, the listing of the Shares was transferred to the Main Board.

On 5 November 2010, the Company completed the disposal of the entire issued share capital of Fortune Gate Overseas Limited which held 40% equity interest in Arc of Triumph Development Company Limited.

On 18 December 2015, the Group entered into a lease agreement for the renewal of the lease of certain premises of the Group.

On 3 October 2016, the Group completed the acquisition of the remaining 49% equity interest in Maxprofit International Limited, which is the holding company of the companies comprising the Hotel Group in the Philippines.

On 10 February 2017, Brighten Path Limited as purchaser and Mediastar International Limited as vendor entered into the Sale and Purchase Agreement pursuant to which Brighten Path Limited purchased and Mediastar International Limited sold a total of 763,773,550 Shares, representing approximately 64.77% of the total issued share capital of the Company as at 10 February 2017. Completion of the Sale and Purchase Agreement took place on 10 February 2017.

On 17 May 2018, Lucky Genius Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, entered into a live events and poker room collaboration agreement (the “Cooperation Agreement’’) with a member company of The Stars Group (‘‘Stars Group’’), whereby, among other things, Stars Group has granted Lucky Genius Limited the right to operate land-based live events and poker rooms under the branding of PokerStars in certain Asian countries. Details are set out in the announcement dated 18 May 2018.

On 21 May 2018, the Buyer (as the purchaser), the Sellers and Huron Property Investments Limited (collectively, as the Vendors) and the Company (as the guarantor) entered into the Share Purchase Agreement, pursuant to which the Buyer has conditionally agreed to acquire and the Vendors have conditionally agreed to sell the Sale Shares, representing the entire issued share capital (including both ordinary shares and preference shares) of the Target Company and the shareholding of the Trustees of the Whelan Family Bare Trust in Wigan Athletic A.F.C. Limited. On the same date, the Buyer and the Company also entered into the Property Agreement A, the Property Agreement B and the Property Agreement C with the Property Seller A, the Property Seller B and the Property Seller C respectively for the acquisition of the Property A, the Property B and the Property C by the Buyer for the Properties Consideration. Details are set out in the announcement dated 21 May 2018. The Completion took place on 7 November 2018. Upon Completion, the Target Company, Wigan Athletic Holdings Limited has become an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company and each of WAFCL and Stadco has become an indirect nonwholly owned subsidiary of the Company.

On 15 June 2018, the Subscriber, as limited partner, entered into the Subscription Agreement and the Limited Partnership Agreement with the General Partner, pursuant to which the Subscriber agreed to subscribe for the Interest in the Fund and commit a capital contribution of EUR26.20 million (approximately HK$242.35 million) to the Fund. Details are set out in the announcement dated 15 June 2018.

On 30 April 2019, Baltic Success Limited, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, and each of Mr. Ng and Mr. Wang, being the Vendors, entered into the Sale and Purchase Agreement pursuant to which the Purchaser has agreed to acquire, and each of Mr. Ng and Mr. Wang has agreed to sell, the NKT Sale Shares at the NKT Consideration of HK$26,500,000 and WL Sale Shares at the WL Consideration of HK$26,500,000, which shall be settled by way of issue of the Convertible Bond by the Company to each of Mr. Ng (or as he may direct) and Mr. Wang (or as he may direct) respectively. Details are set out in the announcement dated 30 April 2019. The Completion took place on 5 July 2019. Upon Completion, Oriental-Invest Properties Limited has become an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.

On 25 October 2019, the Subsidiary (as the seller) entered into the Transfer Agreement with the Purchaser (as the buyer), pursuant to which the Subsidiary agreed to transfer and assign, and the Purchaser agreed to purchase the Interest at the Consideration of US$16.30 million (equivalent to approximately HK$127.96 million). Details are set out in the announcement dated 25 October 2019. The Completion took place on 30 December 2019. Upon Completion, the Group will hold 49.9962% of the total capital commitment of the Fund.

On 14 February 2020, the Company (as the Vendor) and Next Leader Fund, L.P. (as the Purchaser) entered into the Sale and Purchase Agreement, pursuant to which the Company has conditionally agreed to sell and the Purchaser has conditionally agreed to acquire the Sale Shares, representing the entire issued share capital of the Disposal Company, Newworth Ventures Limited. Details are set out in the circular dated 8 May 2020. The Completion took place on 29 May 2020. Upon Completion, the Group will cease to have any beneficial interest in any company in the Disposal Group, and all the companies in the Disposal Group will cease to be subsidiaries/members of the Company.