Charm Communications Strengthens Performance Marketing Expertise through Acquisition of Leading Chinese Search Engine Marketing Firm ClickPro

Charm Communications Strengthens Performance Marketing Expertise through Acquisition of Leading Chinese Search Engine Marketing Firm ClickPro

BEIJING, June 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Charm Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHRM) ("Charm"), a leading advertising agency in China, announced today that it has acquired a 60% stake in privately-held ClickPro (www.clickpro.cn), a leading Chinese performance and search engine marketing ("SEM") firm with proprietary technology and full-service capabilities, through an all-cash transaction expected to close in the third quarter of 2011. The newly acquired group will strengthen Charm's performance marketing platform by integrating with Charm's existing search and performance marketing business, which operates under Charm's digital marketing agency Charm Interactive, to form Charm's fourth major brand, Charm Click.

ClickPro is a leading SEM firm in China with a proprietary platform linked to Baidu and Google and full-service capabilities for SEM campaigns. ClickPro's performance marketing services and technologies have attracted a number of leading Chinese and international companies including SINA, 51job.com, PayPal, Estee Lauder, Air China, Gap and Li Ning. Additionally, the company has developed and maintained a client software paid-search optimization product used on Taobao, the largest online retail website in China with more than 50 million unique visitors daily. ClickPro has 58 employees, including 12 engineers, with offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. The company was founded in 2007 by founder, general manager and SEM pioneer Mr. Johnny Honggang Zhu, along with other former Google China and eBay China employees. While at Google China, Mr. Zhu developed and trained the company's first SEM team and headed sales support for its key accounts following his role as senior marketing director and head of digital marketing activities at eBay China. Mr. Zhu will lead Charm Click and report directly to Charm Communications Founder, Chairman and CEO, Mr. He Dang.

Mr. Dang commented on the acquisition, "The acquisition of ClickPro is a strategic step in expanding our digital service capabilities and enhancing our SEM platform as we aim to become the number one performance marketing agency in China. China's SEM industry is in an early stage of development with over 50% annual growth expected from 2010-2014 according to iResearch. We believe the acquisition provides us the best team and technology to capitalize on the industry's growth potential while meeting our clients' increasing demand for performance marketing. As we further develop our SEM and open application services and technologies for leading websites like Baidu and Taobao, Charm's integrated advertising platform and large client base combined with ClickPro's proprietary platform and leading SEM operations will bolster Charm Click's ability to conduct integrated and targeted marketing campaigns on behalf of advertisers."

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this press release are forward-looking statements and involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the Company and the industry in which the Company operates, but involve a number of unknown risks and uncertainties. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Charm's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its registration statement on Form F-1. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results. You are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements contained herein and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements.

About Charm

Charm Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHRM) is a leading advertising agency in China. Charm operates its business under three brands: Charm Advertising, Charm Interactive, and Shangxing Media. Under the Charm Advertising and Charm Interactive brands, Charm offers integrated advertising agency services from planning and managing advertising campaigns to creating and placing advertisements. Under the Shangxing Media brand, Charm has established a portfolio of television advertising media resources through its exclusive arrangements with premium national television channels, which include not only advertising time but also opportunities for placing branded content. Charm's clients include well-recognized brand names in China across many industries, as well as emerging domestic leading brands. In January 2010, Charm formed a consolidated joint venture with international 4A advertising group Aegis Media, its strategic investor, to operate its brand "Vizeum" in China. In October 2010, Charm also entered into agreement to establish a joint venture with Wasu Digital Group to operate all advertising-related businesses across Wasu's IPTV, 3G mobile TV and broadband TV network platforms. For more information please go to http://ir.charmgroup.cn.

For investor and media
inquiries, please contact:

In China:

IR Department
Charm Communications Inc.
Phone: +86-10-6581-3885
Email: ir@charmgroup.cn

In the U.S.:

Ms. Jessica Barist Cohen
Ogilvy Financial, New York
Phone: +1-646-460-9989
Email: chrm@ogilvy.com

SOURCE Charm Communications Inc.

Charm Communications Inc.

Web Site: http://www.clickpro.cn

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Profile: intent