SHANGHAI – SearchMedia Holdings Limited (“SearchMedia”) (NYSE Amex: IDI) (NYSE Amex: IDI.WS), one of China’s leading nationwide multi-platform media companies, and Home Inns & Hotel Management Inc. (“Home Inns”) (NASDAQ: HMIN), a leading economy hotel chain in China, today announced that they have entered into a memorandum of understanding to reach a definitive agreement giving SearchMedia certain rights to create a nationwide advertising network at Home Inns’ hotels throughout China.
As of March 31, 2012, Home Inns operated 1,479 hotels in 219 different cities in China and had over 7.9 million unique individual members. The definitive agreement, the terms of which are still under discussion, is expected to include a variety of advertising formats including billboards, elevator advertising and lobby advertising at certain existing Home Inns locations and future new hotels. SearchMedia will be responsible for managing all marketing, advertising and resources related to the agreement.
Peter W.H. Tan, Chief Executive Officer of SearchMedia, remarked, “We believe the agreement will enhance shareholder value for both companies. Home Inns has an extensive network of hotels throughout China, with a strong presence in heavily trafficked urban locations. It is widely anticipated that over 60% of China’s population would live in urban locations by the year 2020. We believe the agreement will allow us to provide a very attractive long term advertising solution for our international, national and local advertisers, through the nationwide consumer reach of the network. We will also be able to offer comprehensive campaigns that include rooftop billboards, lobby displays, elevator posters and other forms of advertising. We anticipate that the agreement will apply to certain Home Inns locations in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou initially and be rolled out to lower tier cities later.”
Home Inns Chief Executive Officer David Sun added, “We are pleased to be partnering with SearchMedia and to generate additional revenue opportunities from our hotel network while providing valuable marketing information to our guests. We expect the agreement to be mutually beneficial.”
The memorandum of understanding is subject to the signing of a definitive agreement. SearchMedia is expected to complete a new financing to support this agreement and it is currently evaluating various financing proposals to support this new network and other nationwide concession opportunities.
About SearchMedia
SearchMedia is a leading nationwide multi-platform media company and one of the largest operators of integrated outdoor billboard and in-elevator advertising networks in China. SearchMedia operates a network of high-impact billboards and one of China’s largest networks of in-elevator advertisement panels in 50 cities throughout China. SearchMedia’s core outdoor billboard and in-elevator platforms are complemented by its transit advertising platform, which together enable it to provide multi-platform, “one-stop shop” services for its local, national and international advertising clients. Learn more at www.searchmediaholdings.com.
About Home Inns
Home Inns is a leading economy hotel chain in China based on the number of hotels and hotel rooms, as well as the geographic coverage of the hotel chain. Since Home Inns commenced operations in 2002, it has become one of the best-known economy hotel brands in China. Home Inns offers a consistent product and high-quality services to primarily serve the fast growing population of value-conscious individual business and leisure travelers who demand clean, comfortable and convenient lodging. Home Inns’ ADSs, each of which represents two ordinary shares, are currently trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “HMIN.” For more information about Home Inns, please visit http://english.homeinns.com.
