XDC says it has taken a major step forward by reaching virtual print fee digital cinema deployment agreements with all six major US film studios for a total of 8 000 digital screens in 22 European countries. As only five percent of the European movie screens have already been digitalized digital cinema is expected to grow tremendously in the coming years thanks to the VPF system and a strong market demand for 3D movies and alternative content. XDC intends to deploy its 8 000 screens by 2015. The new EUR 15.3 million funding by Gimv SRIW and selected existing investors provides the company with the funds to finance its growth in the coming years. Founding partner EVS remains the most important investor with a 30.2 percent fully diluted stake (41.3 percent not diluted) while SRIW and Gimv become cornerstone investors with a 20.7 percent and 20.2 percent stake (fully diluted) respectively. Serge Plasch CEO of XDC says Securing new funding in this challenging financial climate shows the market potential of XDC's technology and services. We are very proud that a new investor such as Gimv shares the vision with SRIW and our founding shareholders. With this funding the company will be able to accelerate its network deployment and to expand its digital content services to the European cinema industry and beyond. Alain Keppens head buyouts and growth - Belgium at Gimv says Gimv is very pleased to further strengthen XDC's capital and become co-investor together with EVS. Our buyouts and growth and technology teams were able to tap on our knowledge from current and past investments in the entertainment and media sectors such as Barco Alfacam and Kinepolis Group. We believe that the combination of XDC's strong capital base its financing agreements with banks and its strong support and service offering should enable the company to capture a major part of this high-growth market. Moreover we are convinced that the company is well-positioned to reinforce its leadership in Europe. Olivier Vanderijst chairman of the executive committee of SRIW says XDC is today the European leader in its sector. Following our first investment in 2008 our additional commitment in this major financing reflects our mission to support Walloon companies in their international expansion. It is also another evidence of the SRIW involvement in new technologies. Eric Bauche executive committee advisor at SRIW says Last but not least XDC shall create new vacancies in Liege (Belgium) and across Europe for highly skilled people in the coming years. XDC www.xdcinema.com
