Announcing its financial results for the 12 months to 31 March, UBC said the company "will be significantly different" once the deal completes, which is expected to be in October. UBC has already announced plans to close its loss-making music download service Cliq, just six months after launch.
Following these two deals, the company expects to "hold a significant cash" position. It said: "The board has decided to initiate a strategic review of the group's options in the event of the successful conclusion of the sale of the commercial networking [news] division. No decisions have as yet been taken on the board's preferred strategy and, in the meantime, it is the board's intention to continue to operate the group's businesses with a view to maximising shareholder value."
The company increased revenues by 17.3% to £15.5m during the year to 31 March. However, it posted a pre-tax loss of £2.9m, due to the losses related to Cliq, which the company now aims to operate as a business-to-business music platform.
UBC launched Cliq in December 2007. Initially, the service was available only as a mobile phone service, but UBC said the early consumer response "was disappointing, and it is clear that the market for downloaded music is still evolving".
The company's commercial networking division performed strongly last year, reporting revenues, derived from advertising, up 28.3%, at £11.5m.
UBC also revealed that it invested £150,000 in the year to 31 March in the 4 Digital Group digital radio consortium, which was awarded the second national DAB multiplex in July 2007.
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