Live Current Media raises $1.06 million from institutional and accredited investors

Canada-based Live Current Media , which owns Cricket.com and Perfume.com and also runs the portals of Board of Control for Cricket in India ( BCCI.tv ) and the Indian Premier League ( IPLT20.com ), has raised $1.06 million from a limited group of institutional and accredited investors. The company also hopes to close a second tranche of investment of up to $1 million in the next 15 days.

Live Current Media chief executive officer and chairman Geoffrey Hampson, the company’s president and chief operating officer Jonathan Ehrlich, and chief corporate development officer Mark Melville, all invested in the round.

According to Live Current Media, the fresh investment will be used to accelerate the growth of the company’s Perfume.com business, meet on-going obligations under the BCCI and IPL agreement’s announced in April 2008 and for general working capital purposes.

“This financing, in addition to the expected proceeds of the previously announced sale of up to six non-core domain names, is consistent with management’s strategy to ensure that sufficient cash resources are available to meet our obligations through the end of 2009 while minimizing dilution for existing investors,” Geoffrey Hampson, CEO, Live Current Media, has said.

Recently, Live Current Media entered into an agreement with US-based investment bank Arbor Advisors to sell six of its non-core dot-com domain names from its portfolio of more than 800 domains. According to Live Current, the company expects to raise an aggregate amount of $6 million to $10 million from the sale of these domains and use the money to fund the growth of its health, beauty and sports media businesses.

Live Current Media had earlier bought the rights to build portals of BCCI as well as the Indian Premier League at a combined cost of $50 million. Under the ten-year agreement, Live Current Media had guaranteed to pay a minimum of $3 million and $2 million to BCCI and IPL respectively through revenue sharing including percentages of advertising, sponsorship and merchandising sales.