Toymax International (NasdaqTMAX) today announced that it has agreed to form a joint venture with Street Life Ltd., a privately held entertainment and leisure products company responsible for last year's line of successful Spice Girls singing and talking dolls. The joint venture, Yaboom Ltd., will develop, manufacture and market innovative high-tech consumer products, which will incorporate music and other intellectual property rights from popular recording artists. Utilizing a proprietary compression technology, MCD(TM), Yaboom's initial product offerings will include key chain music players and dolls, both with the artist's original music and complete songs.
Toymax also announced that Yaboom has signed its first licensing agreement with Britney Spears to manufacture and market entertainment products that incorporate her recordings. Launch products include a singing doll featuring the hit single "Baby One More Time", which will be available at retail locations nationwide in October. Additional cartridges featuring such songs as "I Will Be There", "You Drive Me Crazy", and "Born To Make You Happy" are also available. Yaboom is currently negotiating licensing agreements with
several other top recording artists.
The joint venture also plans to launch a streaming website, Yaboom.com, in Spring 2000. The innovative website will enable consumers to download music into select Yaboom products utilizing the Company's MCD(TM) Audio Player in a highly protected and secured environment. Additionally, Yaboom.com will be interactive with certain Yaboom products, providing real-time audio/video
feeds of popular recording artists, including Britney Spears. Under the terms of the joint venture agreement, Toymax, through a
wholly-owned Hong Kong subsidiary, and Street Life will each own 50 percent of the newly formed company. Although financial terms were not disclosed, Toymax will account for the joint venture using the equity method. |