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Merrill Lynch Agrees to Exclusive Distribution Agreement With Global Media Intelligence, a Producer of Independent Research in the Media Sector
NEW YORK, October 30, 2007 — Merrill Lynch has entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with Global Media Intelligence ("GMI"), an independent provider of leading research on the media industry. Merrill Lynch and GMI will jointly host an investors' conference about the media sector on November 13. Subjects to be analyzed at the conference will include the impact of digital delivery of content on media companies.
The objective of the agreement is to marry Merrill Lynch's award-winning, in-house research with GMI's leading data and analyses on the media industry, in order to provide Merrill Lynch's institutional clients with a unique content offering.
GMI is owned by Screen Digest, whose business — long viewed as a premier source of data, analyses and forecasts for the global media industry — was further strengthened this month by its purchase of California-based Adams Media Research. Adams is itself a leading source of independent research on the U.S. media and communications sectors.
"This partnership with GMI is a natural extension of Merrill Lynch's global commission management offering," said Michael Lynch, managing director in Global Equities at Merrill Lynch. "Our research, sales and trading professionals are uniquely positioned to identify independent research providers with specialized expertise relevant to our clients' investment processes."
"Screen Digest and GMI offer unique, high-quality data, and I am certain that this relationship will enrich our interaction with our own clients as they engage in the process of evaluating their media investments," said Jessica Reif Cohen, managing director and senior media research analyst at Merrill Lynch.
"We are delighted to partner with Merrill Lynch and to jointly host an investors' conference on the media industry," said Allan Hardy, managing director of GMI. "We have now spent nearly two years creating an in-depth service, tailored to institutional investors in the media industry that draws on the knowledge of our 40-strong team of analysts. We are extremely pleased that Merrill Lynch sees GMI's service as a valuable complement to its own excellent investment research on the industry."
About Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading wealth management, capital markets and advisory companies with offices in 38 countries and territories and total client assets of approximately $1.8 trillion. As an investment bank, it is a leading global trader and underwriter of securities and derivatives across a broad range of asset classes and serves as a strategic advisor to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals worldwide. Merrill Lynch owns approximately half of BlackRock, one of the world's largest publicly traded investment management companies, with more than $1 trillion in assets under management. For more information on Merrill Lynch, please visit www.ml.com.
About Global Media Intelligence
Global Media Intelligence ("GMI") is a market research service designed by London-based Screen Digest and its recently acquired Carmel, California-based subsidiary Adams Media Research ("Adams") specifically for media-focused institutional investors. The GMI service is supported by over 40 specialized analysts covering TV, motion pictures, video games, mobile media, home entertainment and broadband media tracking 300-plus companies in 50-plus countries. Screen Digest and Adams have 36 years of knowledge, research, data intelligence and strategic consulting services. Through their world-renowned databases, in-depth research reports and direct analyst access service, Screen Digest and Adams will strive through the GMI service to bring customizable insights and thought-leadership to the investment decision making process.
Contact:
Terez Hanhan 713.544.4085
terez_hanhan@ml.com
