Shares in digital media firm Point.360 soared nearly 50 percent Tuesday after DG FastChannel Inc. agreed to acquire the Burbank firm’s advertising distribution operations for about $34 million.

Point.360, which provides digital media services to the advertising, broadcast and publishing industries, said the purchase excludes the assumption of about $7 million of outstanding debt.

Irving, Texas-based DGFC will exchange each share of Point.360 for one-fifth of a share of DGFC common stock and the two companies will merge. Point.360’s senior management will helm the newly created company, New 360. DG FastChannel, which owns about 1.6 million shares of Point.360 stock (about 16 percent of its outstanding shares), will not participate in the ownership of New 360.

Point.360 said it would spin off its remaining businesses to its current shareholders while also giving one share of the new company for each Point.360 share held.

Point.360 also said in a regulatory filing that Chief Executive and Chairman Haig Bagerdjian bought 200,000 shares of stock at $1.75 about a week before the deal was announced.

Shares in Point.360 were up $1.63, or 44 percent, to $5.32 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq.