VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 30, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Crescende International Inc. (Pink Sheets:CDIT) has signed a joint venture contract with ICBS Canada, a multi-services, business solutions corporation based in Montreal, Quebec.
The announcement was made today by Crescende CEO and president Michella Frosch, who closed the deal at recent meetings in eastern Canada and the United States.
ICBS brings a wealth of international business acumen to Crescende, whose primary business is the mounting and touring of worldwide exhibitions of art and artifacts from one of the world's most prestigious private collections of art and artifacts. The agreement also establishes a presence in eastern Canada for Crescende.
Frosch said ICBS is essentially a one-stop business centre, which provides services that cover acquisitions and mergers, financing, securities, expansion, international market entry, banking, accounting, tax and related matters, and offshore corporations.
Among its management team, ICBS has more than 100 years of business expertise.
The chair of ICBS is Dr. George Tsoukas, M.D., endocrinologist, associate professor, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec. Dr. Tsoukas is a noted physician and educator, is an associate physician at the McGill University Medical Centre in Montreal and conducts clinical research on metabolic bone diseases. Dr. Tsoukas was chief examiner for the Quebec College of Endocrinologists and was an honours student in fine arts and biochemistry at McGill University. He obtained his medical degree at the same university and received further training in internal medicine, cardiology, and endocrinology. He is a fellow in the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
Richard Howarth, ICBS's president and CEO has a career that spans more than 30 years in business and includes positions in accounting, operations and technical manual publication. Howarth has been involved in the aerospace industry for over 25 years and is well-versed in the operations and maintenance of jet aircraft. Howarth is a graduate of Manchester Polytechnic University in Manchester, England with a Bachelor of Science in applied chemistry of polymers.
Garth McIntosh is the COO and senior consultant of ICBS Ltd. He has 40 years of extensive experience working as a business analyst and consultant for a variety of private and public corporations. He has developed a series of unique diagnostic tools for small to medium-size businesses that identify the operational areas that could be improved, so as to reduce costs and improve efficiency. McIntosh also has a strong background in strategic consulting, acquisitions and mergers and corporate turnarounds with private and public companies.
Antonella Petrolito, lawyer, LL.B., BSc. is the in-house council for ICBS. Petrolito holds a Bachelor of Civil Law from the University of Ottawa, and a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences from the University of Montreal. She is fluent in three languages: French, Italian and Spanish and has been a member of the Quebec bar since 1996.
ICBS full-services team augments Crescende's strong management team as it goes into international arenas.
At present, Crescende holds an exclusive management agreement with the sub-license holder of a major private art collection in Europe, to develop and tour exhibitions of art reproductions and sell related retail reproductions and souvenir adaptations from the esteemed collection. Announcements about the collection will be made public shortly.
Under the terms of its exclusive management agreement with the worldwide sub-licensor, Crescende will monetize the brand equity and intellectual property held within this collection of historical importance, through an extensive series of 'A' Class and specialty theme exhibitions worldwide over a period of at least 10 years. The company will also seek to secure the intellectual property rights of other important art collections for the purposes of exhibition and retail.
The Crescende exhibitions will be of the caliber of the King Tut and Leonardo da Vinci collections, which have attracted millions of people throughout the world.
Among locations being considered by Crescende for concurrent exhibitions are Australia, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, England, Spain, and Germany; Cities in North and Central America will include Los Angeles, Memphis, New York, Washington D.C, Portland, Mexico City, Toronto, and Vancouver.
In conjunction with tours, CDIT has the rights to replicate and retail artifacts from the exhibitions. These will be marketed in various museums and other exhibition venues, in addition to select shops, the home-shopping networks of the world, and on an interactive Web site where customers may make direct purchases for immediate delivery.
The Crescende Collections will bring to the public some of the great, unseen masterpieces of the world, which will provide an enhanced knowledge of history and art from creative and spiritual realms, appealing to people of all cultures and faiths.
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