New York, NY, April 3, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On the first day of trading under the new corporate name and ticker symbol, Hannover House, Inc. (Pinksheets: HHSE), released an outline of current and upcoming corporate activities for the benefit of new and prospective shareholders. Prior to today's official acknowledgment of corporate name and trading symbol change by FINRA and the OTC Markets, Hannover House, Inc. had been the operating division of Target Development Group, Inc.
BUSINESS OVERVIEW - Hannover House, Inc. is one of only twelve full-service independent entertainment companies servicing the USA Market (the other companies involved in similar activities include all of the Major Studios, plus major independents such as Lionsgate-Summit, and specialty players such as Anchor Bay Entertainment, Echo Bridge, Phase 4 and Gaiam). Hannover House was formed in 1993 as a book publisher, and added DVD products in 2002. The company added theatrical release activities to the roster in 2008, with a significant expansion of theatrical activities in 2010. Presently, the company is concentrating primarily on a solid monthly "home video" release slate (which includes DVD, Blu-Ray and Video-on-Demand releases), to supplement the higher-profile (but less frequent) theatrically released titles. Hannover House, Inc. posted year-over-year sales gains in 2011 of 373% with year-over-year profit gains of 246%. For 2012, the company is forecasting sales growth of more than 100% over the 2011 results. The company's primary office and warehouse are located in Springdale, Arkansas, due in part to the proximity to the world headquarters for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., which represents over thirty-five percent of the company's current home video sales.
RELEASE OVERVIEW - For calendar year, 2012, the company is on target to release at least one new title each month to the home video market, with six films slated for theatrical release and five new release books scheduled for publication. The current best-selling DVD release for the company currently in stores is "Boggy Creek: The Legend is True." The upcoming release of "Humans vs Zombies" is on track to be the company's highest grossing, direct-released home video title based on substantial pre-orders received from Wal-Mart, Blockbuster, Redbox and others. The company's top theatrical title for summer 2012 is expected to be the acclaimed and award winning feature, "Toys in the Attic" featuring Forest Whitaker, Joan Cusack and Cary Elwes.
NEW VENTURES - In addition to the core activities with film and video distribution, the company is in the process of establishing a major new revenue division, www.VODwiz.com. The business model of VODwiz is to provide an accessible portal to stream movies over the internet directly to consumers (similar to Netflix and iTunes), with the unique angle of offering a far broader selection of titles and better pricing on a per-film basis. Hannover House, Inc. has a significant film library of quality titles available for video-on-demand release, as do many other studios and independent suppliers. However, under the current market model for Netflix, iTunes and others, only the highest-profile theatrical hits are readily accessible for consumers to stream. This has resulted in a rapid "burn-out" for many film aficionados who in most cases, have already seen the big hits at theatres, and are looking for harder-to-find, independent gems for streaming. Hannover House has initiated discussions with most of the independent studio distributors regarding making their titles available for streaming through VODwiz. The company believes that more than 2,000 titles will be available for streaming when VODwiz goes live this summer. Hannover House is also in active development of three, major motion picture properties that the company feels could substantially increase the company's profile and revenues. Recognizing how a property like "Twilight" transformed Summit Entertainment from a boutique distributor to a $500-million dollar company, Hannover House executives have identified three major properties that are being pursued with various forms of off-balance-sheet financing.
CORPORATE GOALS - Hannover House has targeted June 30, 2012 as the outside date anticipated for the completion and release of two-years of full financial audits (covering the years-ending 12/31/2010 and 12/31/2011). The company believes that the results of the audit will substantially conform to the management prepared and filed financial reports as are presently available and posted with the OTCMarkets website. While the company is already fully current and compliant with all OTC Market reporting and disclosures, it is the company's desire to expand its shareholder transparency further through the completion of the audits for the two most recent reporting years.
CORPORATE FINANCING - In the past two years, Hannover House has improved its balance sheet significantly, generated eight consecutive quarters of profits, and reduced its debts by more than 42%, all achieved while simultaneously maintaining a tight control over the total amount of outstanding shares. The company has initiated a discussion for an off-balance sheet fund (of up to $5-mm) to provide acquisition and releasing capital at no risk to Hannover House. The company has also been contacted by a major investor regarding a significant financing opportunity specifically applied to the VODwiz venture. The company has agreed to two separate "private financing" ventures that will provide up to ten new release features over the next two years, at no capital risk to Hannover House. The company would reasonably consider other financing opportunities that might provide additional working capital, or debt reduction means, provided that such ventures would not require any significant change to the overall quantities of stock in issue.
PRINCIPALS - The CEO of Hannover House is Eric Parkinson (53). Mr. Parkinson has been in the film and video entertainment fields since 1983, and has held several high profile positions during his 28 years in President or CEO level positions. He is most notably known for his years at Hemdale Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ), during which time he set eight video industry sales achievement records for titles ranging from "Terminator" to "Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland." Parkinson has also been active in producing or executive-producing feature films and videos, with over forty feature credits. The President of Hannover House is Don Frederick Shefte (64), who worked as an attorney and partner in several major California law firms before moving into the banking industry in 2002. Shefte also has significant business and entrepreneurial experience, and joined Hannover House in 2006. Collectively, Parkinson and Shefte control approximately 60% of the total shareholder voting authority for Hannover House (through ownership of both common stock and preferred shares).
More information on Hannover House, including all required current financial and disclosure documents and filings, can be reviewed by visiting: www.OTCMarkets.com/stock/HHSE/quote
Press & Media: For More Information Contact:
Leigha Schilling, HANNOVER HOUSE, 479-751-4500 / Leigha@HannoverHouse.com
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT
This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Sections 27A & 21E of the amended Securities and Exchange Acts of 1933-34, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Although the company believes that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, there can be no assurance that these statements included in this press release will prove accurate.