BEIJING, March 6, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Legend Media, Inc. (OTCBB:LEGE) today announced that Mike Bonner, Chief Operating Officer of The Scholar Ship, has been appointed to the company's board of directors. The Scholar Ship is a globally recognized academic program aboard a transformed passenger ship backed by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Jeffrey Dash, CEO of Legend Media, said, "We are very happy to have Mike Bonner joining the board. As a new media company, we understand the importance of sales. Mr. Bonner adds experience from the customer's perspective as most of his career has been with highly visible, Western brands. He will be an invaluable asset to the company as we begin to expand our sales efforts."
Before joining The Scholar Ship, Bonner served as Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development for Viking River Cruises. Prior to Viking River Cruises, Bonner held a variety of positions at Royal Caribbean Cruises, where he joined as Manager of Strategic Projects in 1997 and was later promoted to Vice President of Corporate and Strategic Planning in 2005. While at Royal Caribbean, Bonner directed a variety of functions including strategic planning, corporate and capital planning, fleet deployment, and business development.
Prior to working for Royal Caribbean, Bonner was an associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, a global strategy and technology consulting firm, where he helped develop business strategies for clients in a wide variety of industries.
"In our research of acquisition targets, we have noticed the utilization rates for Chinese radio stations are close to 30 percent compared to 95 percent in the U.S. markets, and we believe our opportunity is similar to the U.S. when radio first began," Dash said. "With our current management and Mike's experience, we believe we will be able to build a best of class sales organization that will ensure we maximize the utilization rates of those companies we acquire, which is why we are so excited about this opportunity."
Bonner holds a B.A. in economics and in psychology from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from the Tuck School at Dartmouth College.
About Legend Media, Inc.
Legend Media, Inc., through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Well Chance Investments Ltd. ("Well Chance"), intends to build a leading consumer advertising network in China that reaches consumers through multiple advertising mediums, with a specific near-term focus on radio. Well Chance is run by its world-class Executive Team, Advisory Board, and Board of Directors. These teams have helped to establish a network of partners in China and the United States who are actively working to build the company's customer base, refine its business development strategies, and identify additional acquisition candidates. Well Chance leverages these partners to manage its relationships with major national and international advertising agencies, while local operators focus on maintaining radio station and advertiser relationships within their local markets. Well Chance currently has several Letters of Intent for acquisitions in place, which they expect to close in the first quarter of 2008
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This news release contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Since the forward-looking statements relate to future developments, results or events, these statements are highly speculative and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to assess. You should not construe any of these statements as a definitive or invariable expression of what will actually occur or result. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and the Company and Well Chance assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance those beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consider all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosed in the Company's periodic reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available at http://www.sec.gov.