On Monday it was announed that Platinum Studios the nearly 10 year old publishing company that just began publishing about a year ago is going PUBLIC.
Platinum Studios Inc., a comic-book company with several feature film adaptations set up at major studios, today announced that it has completed a $5 million round of equity financing and has filed its SB-2 statement with the SEC to become a publicly traded company. Responsible for bringing the blockbuster Men in Black franchise to Sony Pictures, Platinum Studios generates revenue by adapting, producing and licensing its sizable library of comic book properties for all forms of media including publishing, film, television, mobile/wireless, gaming and merchandising. President and chief operating officer Brian Altounian led the $5 Million capital raise.
Now this is of interest for many reasons. First off, in its long existence, Platinum has had one of the highest PR to product ratios of any company. While there has been endless talk of pacts and deals and this and that, the results on screen and page have been minimal — although certainly not negligible. So going public — a time honored method to raise a lot of cash for someone with a good idea — would seem to be the ultimate payout on the company for Scott Rosenberg.
Second off, for a company that has been shrouded in mystery to a large degree, it’s surprising that they have gone public. Because when you go public, you GO PUBLIC. Anyone can read Platinum’s SEC filing right here. It’s nearly 80 pages long, so it may take you a while to wade through. We’re not even clear on all the bits of interest, so let’s start with this:
NET REVENUE
Total Revenue increased by $1,646,300 from $30,500 for the six months ended June 30, 2006 to $1,676,800 for the six months ended June 30, 2007. This increase is primarily due to a $1,000,000 option fee and a $450,000 first-look agreement realized in the first six months of 2007.
EXPENSES
OPERATIONS– Operating expenses increased by $1,092,535 from $1,275,419 for the six months ended June 30, 2006 to $2,367,954 for the six months ended June 30, 2007, an increase of 86%. This increase reflects the operating expense level implemented in the second half of 2006 in establishing new sales distribution channels and increased marketing activities as well as costs for management, finance and administrative, legal, and facilities costs.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT– Research and Development expenses consist primarily of salaries and related personnel costs and independent, work-for-hire fees associated with product development. Research and Development expenses increased from $310,205 for the six months ended June 30, 2006 to $457,854 for the six months ended June 30, 2007, an increase of $147,649 (48%). This increase was primarily due to the development activities associated with the delivery of new comic book titles and books on multiple platforms implemented in the second quarter of 2006.
DEPRECIATION AND AMORTIZATION EXPENSE– Depreciation and Amortization expenses increased by $69,630 for the six month period, from $11,035 for the six months ended June 30, 2006 to $80,665 for the six months ended June 30, 2007. This 631% increase consisted of $45,652 in amortization expense related to other assets which were $0 in 2006 and $23,978 in increased depreciation expense due to additional investments in computer equipment, software and furniture and fixtures.
INTEREST EXPENSE– Interest expense decreased by $51,323 (27%) from $191,710 for the six months ended June 30, 2006 to $140,387 for the six months ended June 30, 2007. This decrease is primarily due to the conversion of $5,731,057 in principal and accrued interest into equity in September, 2006..
NET LOSS BEFORE INCOME TAXES– As a result of the factors described above, we reported a net loss before income taxes of $1,757,869 for the six months ended June 30, 2006 compared to a loss of $1,484,673 for the six months ended June 30, 2007, an improvement of $273,196.
There’s other stuff, like Scott Mitchel Rosenberg’s $34,616 yearly salary, his $1 mil loan from his mom, and their $350,00 deal with Top Cow. And to be honest, we’re not sure how much of a boilerplate language the following is for a SB-2 filing, but it sure makes a good pull quote out of context:
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that we will continue as a going concern, which contemplates the realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. Since Platinum Studios, Inc.’s inception, we have incurred losses, had an accumulated deficit, and have experienced negative cash flows from operations. We expect this trend to continue. The expansion and development of our business will likely require additional capital. This condition raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. We expect cash flows from operating activities to improve, primarily as a result of an increase in revenues, although there can be no assurance thereof. The accompanying consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might be necessary should we be unable to continue as a going concern. If we fail to generate positive cash flows or obtain additional financing when required, we may have to modify, delay or abandon some or all of our business and expansion plans.
Anyway there’s certainly more to be mined here, and much of it, as we said, is boilerplate language. Hopefully some financial experts will come along and tell us what it really says. But at this point, The Beat really only has one big question which should be answered about 10 minutes after this goes up: WHAT DOES DJ COFFMAN THINK?
What I want to know is, who is designing the stock certificate? Will CGC grade it? Or, since this is Platinum, will the stock only exist electronically?
DJ Coffman says that come December his ongoing Hero By Night series comes out and that he is very, very proud of it and hopes that everyone checks out.
Kisses!
DJ’s thinking right where he should be thinking. After the amazing reviews and response to the first Hero By Night book, I think the new ongoing series is going to be an even bigger treat. It’s an all-ages, unapologetic super hero romp, and the quality of the book is where DJ and everyone involved on a creative level should be focused, not the business of the company. That’s for the higher ups.
Scott Koblish thinks it’s fine… the final issue of his book, the Weapon comes out either this week or next and has been a very good experience for everyone involved…
$1.6 million in income for the first 6 months and they LOST $1.4 for those 6 months? Unconceivable!
Adam Black thinks that everyone reading this snarky bullshit should find something better to do.
Something like clicking his name up there to check out the webcomic he’s drawing for Platinum. Who, by the way, are the best group of people I’ve ever worked for in the fifteen years I’ve been drawing comics and/or illustrating books and RPGs and such.
Don’t believe everything you read, kids! But do go read HBN when you get a minute–after you’ve read my webcomic, of course. DJ’s reinventing superhero comics, and you’re missing it by reading this crap. Don’t be a square! Be one of the Cool Kids. ;)
Oh, and read The Weapon, too. That one’s a lot of fun.
As the years go by, and the glory that is sure to be Platinum Studios is set free upon an unsuspecting public, please remember this phrase; “misappropriation of funds”.
Adam Black said: “Don’t believe everything you read, kids!”
Adam, it’s hard NOT to believe what is printed in a prospectus.
As to all the creators working for Platinum, I wish them all the best. I wish them great success. In a roundabout way, I guess that means I am wishing success for Platinum. I have no animosity for Platinum, but I just can’t see where losing over a million bucks every 6 months can lead to success. Prove me wrong, Platinum!
Alan, I see where you’re coming from.
However, the prospectus (prospectii?) for Yahoo, Google, and a ton of other companies that went public all had the “oh, by the way, we’re losing shit-tons of money right now”. I swear, it’s a CYA move or something. Seems like everyone puts that in their paperwork when they go public.
What I’m saying is: it’s so prevalant for this sort of thing that I’m really not losing a whole helluva lot of sleep over it.
And Sal’s “misappropriation of funds” comment was a nicely-done piece of FUD. Kudos, Sal. *golf clap*
I believe Scott Rosenberg is first and foremost a comic book guy. I think he genuinely loves comic books. When he and his associates put Malibu together in the late 80s, Scott was a college kid, yet in Malibu he managed to coral some of the very top talent in the industry, convinced them to leave super heavyweight Marvel comics, and create a new universe from the ground up.
You gotta love something an awful lot, and make other people feel that love and share that vision, to get those kinds of results. Look all over the net and you see people still talking about the Malibu Ultraverse.
When Malibu stock becomes available, I want some of the first shares. Not only are they going to go through the roof in value, they will probably even be worth a lot as a really cool collector item.
I’m rooting for you, Scott — everyone should be so luckly as to do what they really love.
oops, some sort of mental slip there. I meant to say when Platinum Studios stock becomes available I want to buy some of the very first shares, but heck, I’d probably still be willing to buy Malibu stock too if it ever became available again! ( A slightly red-cheeked Michael!)
Platinum stock symbol is PDOS.ob
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