Back to press releasesNewark, N.J., December 5, 2005 – IDT Entertainment today announced that it has closed a Credit Agreement with a bank group led by J.P. Morgan Chase Bank. The Credit Agreement provides for a $125 million, five-and-a-half year, secured revolving credit facility to fund part of the production and marketing costs of IDT Entertainment’s first six CG (computer-generated) animated feature films. The loans under the facility will be secured by a slate of CG animated feature films to be produced by IDT Entertainment, Inc. The facility is non-recourse to IDT Corporation. IDT Entertainment is a subsidiary of IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT, IDT.C), an international telecom, entertainment, and technology company.
“IDT has established a record of successfully producing animated and live action TV programming, broadcast specials and direct to DVD movies. Now we’re adding feature film producer to our production credits,” said Jim Courter, IDT’s CEO. “By agreeing to secure this credit facility against our first six animated movies, J.P. Morgan is demonstrating its confidence in IDT Entertainment. We greatly value our continuing relationship with them.”
Proceeds from the facility will go towards financing films already in feature production as well as the production, marketing and distribution of future IDT Entertainment’s CG animated feature films across various platforms.
“We are pleased to be working with IDT Entertainment,” said John. W. Miller, Managing Director and Head of Western Region Corporate Banking, J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc. “In just two years they have become a significant player in the entertainment marketplace. Their business savvy, ability to attract A-list creative talent, and their broad vision for the future have established IDT Entertainment as a top tier player. We see a very bright future for this entertainment company and we want to continue to be a part of their ascent.”
“We’ve spent the past two years putting our executive and production team in place, expanding our asset portfolio, and establishing our capability for distributing film and TV programming,” said Morris Berger, IDT Entertainment’s CEO. “This credit facility enables us to build on our library of intellectual properties and to kick our production slate into high gear.”
A few highlights from IDT Entertainment’s current CG feature production schedule include the following:
The company’s first CG feature film, Yankee Irving, featuring a voice cast led by Rob Reiner, Whoopi Goldberg, William H. Macy, Brian Dennehy, and Mandy Patinkin, is in production at IDT Entertainment Animation’s studio in Toronto with an anticipated release in late Summer 2006. The film will be distributed through IDT Entertainment’s recently announced multi-picture deal with Twentieth Century Fox. The illustrious production and executive team in charge of the film boasts such credits as Shark Tale, Robots, Ice Age, Mulan, Dinosaur, Shrek, Lilo & Stich, and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.
IDT Entertainment is a vertically integrated entertainment company that develops, produces, and distributes proprietary and licensed entertainment content.
The foregoing summary of the Credit Agreement is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Credit Agreement, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the report on Form 8-K filed by IDT Corporation on December 5, 2005.
Important Note: In this press release, all statements that are not purely about historical facts, including, but not limited to, those with the words “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate, “target” and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. While these forward-looking statements represent IDT’s current judgment of what may happen in the future, actual results may differ materially from the results expressed or implied by these statements due to numerous important factors, including, but not limited to, those described in IDT’s most recent report on SEC Form 10-K (under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”), which may be revised or supplemented in subsequent reports on SEC Forms 10-Q and 8-K and other filings IDT may make with the SEC.
