Fintech
HIRE Technologies to Acquire Leaders and Co., Consulting in Governance and Leadership Inc., Announces $5.0 Million Loan Facility and up to $3.0 Million Concurrent Financing
Toronto, Ontario–(Newsfile Corp. – August 6, 2021) – HIRE Technologies Inc. (TSXV: HIRE) (“HIRE” or the “Company”), a company focused on modernizing and digitizing human resources solutions, announces that it has entered into a definitive arm’s length share purchase agreement dated August 5, 2021 (the “Agreement”) with the shareholders of Leaders and Co., Consulting in Governance and Leadership Inc. (“Leaders”), to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Leaders (the “Acquisition”).
Acquisition Highlights
- The proposed addition of a high margin premier executive search firm to the HIRE network will enhance HIRE’s geographic reach into Québec and boost its EBITDA performance.
- For the fiscal year ending January 31, 2021, Leaders recorded $3.9 million in Revenue and $1.0 million in EBITDA. For the trailing twelve months ending March 31, 2021 EBITDA was $1.3 million.
- HIRE was provided with a term-loan facility of $5.0 million from FirePower Capital to continue its acquisition strategy.
- HIRE concurrently announces a non-brokered private placement to directly support the Acquisition in an amount of up to $3.0 million.
Leaders is an innovative and trusted executive search firm with clients across Canada, strong national and international alliances, and a leading Diversity and Indigenous recruitment practice.
“The Partners at Leaders have created a successful practice based on deep research and exceptional customer service. I am convinced that they will contribute long-term value to HIRE as well as to our clients and existing portfolio companies,” said Simon Dealy, HIRE’s CEO. “We also look forward to collaborating closely with the other Leaders International affiliates in Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary and its international network through Penrhyn International.”
Richard Joly, Managing Partner of Leaders remarked, “It is imperative that executive search firms operate with a view to broaden their networks to remain competitive in our industry. First with our national alliances in 2018, then with our international network at Penrhyn International, and now with our partnership at HIRE, our team of 17 professionals can continue to grow their practices and leverage proprietary tools, including the Leaders Report®, all while being supported by HIRE’s shared services.”
The purchase price for the Acquisition is payable as to $4.4 million in cash, 3,559,871 common shares of the Company at a deemed price of $0.309 per share (the “Consideration Shares”), and $1.0 million in an earn-out payable over three years in cash subject to meeting prescribed financial thresholds. The entire leadership team of Leaders, Richard Joly, Cynthia Labonté, Laurie Sterritt, Yanouk Poirier, and Philippe Burton, will be continuing in the business following the Acquisition.
Closing of the Acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions including receipt of any necessary corporate and regulatory approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, and the closing of the Loan and Concurrent Financing.
FirePower Capital Term-Loan Facility
HIRE is also excited to announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement with FirePower Capital (the “Lender”) for a $5.0 million non-revolving term loan facility (the “Loan”). Pursuant to the terms of the definitive agreement, the disbursement of $3.0 million will be made to finance the Acquisition (the “Initial Draw”). The balance of the Loan may be drawn in two $1.0 million increments for future acquisitions (“Subsequent Draws”).
The Loan will have a three-year term and will bear interest at 12% and is secured over all of the present and future property of the Company and its current operating entities. The Loan and Subsequent Draws is subject to customary financial and other covenants for a transaction of this type.
Concurrently with the release of the Initial Draw, HIRE has agreed to issue 2,613,493 share purchase warrants (“Facility Warrants”) to the Lender. Pursuant to the terms of the certificate representing the Facility Warrants, each Facility Warrant will entitle the Lender to purchase one Company common share at a price of $0.383 for a period of 3 years with a cashless exercise feature. With each Subsequent Draw, HIRE has agreed to issue that number of additional warrants such that the aggregate value is equal to 5% of the Loan at an exercise price equal to the 5 day volume weighted average market price of the Company common shares at the time of a Subsequent Draw plus 10% (“Future Warrants”). The issuance of the Facility Warrants and Future Warrants are subject to approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.
Private Placement Financing
HIRE intends to complete a non-brokered private placement financing of up to $3.0 million at $0.30 per unit with each unit consisting of one common share and one half of one share purchase warrant with each whole warrant exercisable for one common share for a period of 24 months at $0.45 per common share (the “Concurrent Financing”).
The Company may pay eligible finders a fee consisting of: (i) a cash payment equal to 7% of the gross proceeds raised from the Concurrent Financing and (ii) non-transferable finders’ warrants entitling the holder to purchase that number of common shares as is equal to 7% of the units, in each case, attributable to units purchased by subscribers introduced to the Company by eligible finders (the “Finder Warrants”). Each Finder Warrant is exercisable for one common share at a price of $0.30 per common share until 24 months after closing of the Concurrent Financing.
The Consideration Shares, the Facility Warrants, Future Warrants and all securities issued in connection with the Concurrent Financing will be issued pursuant to an exemption from applicable securities laws and be subject to a four-month and one day hold period from their date of issue under applicable Canadian securities laws, in addition to such other restrictions as may apply under applicable securities laws of jurisdictions outside Canada.
The Company intends to use the proceeds of the Concurrent Financing and the Loan for the completion of the Acquisition. The Concurrent Financing is integral to the proposed Acquisition and therefore the Company expects to rely on the “part and parcel pricing” exemption outlined in Section 1.7 of TSX Venture Exchange Policy 4.1. The balance of proceeds from the Loan will be used to advance the Company business plan and for working capital purposes.
The securities offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “U.S. Securities Act”) or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, United States persons absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.
Payment of Debenture Interest in Equity and Engagement Agreement
The Company also announces that it issued a total of 204,501 common shares in satisfaction of its obligations to pay $73,620 in interest to the holders of its 9% unsecured debentures issued August 21 and 24, 2020. For further information, please see the Company press release dated July 19, 2021.
The engagement agreement announced by the Company on May 12, 2021 between the Company and Eight Capital was mutually terminated on August 5, 2021.
About HIRE Technologies Inc.
HIRE is investing in and shaping the future of human resource management with a technology- first focus, by consolidating and modernizing the staffing marketplace. The Company owns and operates staffing firms as well as platform technology that it uses to help those firms become more technologically advanced. The Company is a disciplined capital allocator due to its technology DNA and extensive experience in building and growing staffing companies of all types. HIRE has a large recurring revenue base and helps our clients manage change in the workplace in order to achieve success.
About Leaders
Leaders is one of Canada’s top executive search firms. Leaders offers clients an extensive global database, unprecedented leadership in diversity-centric and indigenous executive recruitment, bilingual capabilities, and the Leaders Report® – a unique research methodology that has created a new standard in search transparency. As a member of Penrhyn International, Leaders also has access to a global network of talent.
About FirePower Capital
FirePower Capital is the private capital and M&A advisory firm built for Canada’s entrepreneurs. Its team of 30+ deal professionals help their mid-market businesses complete mission-critical transactions by advising them or investing in their companies directly.
For further information, please contact:
HIRE Technologies Inc.
Simon Dealy, Chief Executive Officer
Phone: (647) 264-9196
Email: [email protected]
Web: hire.company
Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” or “forward-looking information” (collectively referred to hereafter as “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation.
All statements that address activities, events, or developments that HIRE expects or anticipates will, or may, occur in the future, including statements about HIRE and Leader’s business prospects, future trends, plans, strategies and HIRE’s acquisition strategy, the satisfaction of conditions to and the closing of the Acquisition and related transactions and the expected benefits to HIRE and Leaders resulting from the Acquisition, the satisfaction of conditions to and closing of the Loan and Concurrent Financing and related transactions, involvement of finders and use of proceeds, and TSX Venture Exchange approval to close the Acquisition, Loan and Concurrent Financing and related transactions and issuances of securities are forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements are preceded by, followed by, or include words such as “may”, “will,” “would”, “could”, “should”, “believes”, “estimates”, “projects”, “potential”, “expects”, “plans”, “intends”, “proposes”, “anticipates”, “targeted”, “continues”, “forecasts”, “designed”, “goal”, “anticipate” or the negative of those words or other similar or comparable words.
Although the management of HIRE believes that the assumptions made and the expectations represented by such statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that a forward-looking statement herein will prove to be accurate.
Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of HIRE to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. Risks and uncertainties applicable to the Company, as well as trends identified by the Company affecting it and the staffing industry can be found in the Company’s Annual Information Form dated June 8, 2021 and its continuous disclosure record available on SEDAR.
Such cautionary statements qualify all forward-looking statements made in this press release. HIRE undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR
DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/92274
Modern brands stake on influencer marketing, with 76% of users making a purchase after seeing a product on social media.The cryptocurrency industry is no exception to this trend. However, promoting crypto products through influencer marketing can be particularly challenging. Crypto influencers pose a significant risk to a brand’s reputation and ROI due to rampant scams. Approximately 80% of channels provide fake statistics, including followers counts and engagement metrics. Additionally, this niche is characterized by high CPMs, which can increase the risk of financial loss for brands.
In this article Nadia Bubennnikova, Head of agency Famesters, will explore the most important things to look for in crypto channels to find the perfect match for influencer marketing collaborations.
-
Comments
There are several levels related to this point.
LEVEL 1
Analyze approximately 10 of the channel’s latest videos, looking through the comments to ensure they are not purchased from dubious sources. For example, such comments as “Yes sir, great video!”; “Thanks!”; “Love you man!”; “Quality content”, and others most certainly are bot-generated and should be avoided.
Just to compare:
LEVEL 2
Don’t rush to conclude that you’ve discovered the perfect crypto channel just because you’ve come across some logical comments that align with the video’s topic. This may seem controversial, but it’s important to dive deeper. When you encounter a channel with logical comments, ensure that they are unique and not duplicated under the description box. Some creators are smarter than just buying comments from the first link that Google shows you when you search “buy YouTube comments”. They generate topics, provide multiple examples, or upload lists of examples, all produced by AI. You can either manually review the comments or use a script to parse all the YouTube comments into an Excel file. Then, add a formula to highlight any duplicates.
LEVEL 3
It is also a must to check the names of the profiles that leave the comments: most of the bot-generated comments are easy to track: they will all have the usernames made of random symbols and numbers, random first and last name combinations, “Habibi”, etc. No profile pictures on all comments is also a red flag.
LEVEL 4
Another important factor to consider when assessing comment authenticity is the posting date. If all the comments were posted on the same day, it’s likely that the traffic was purchased.
2. Average views number per video
This is indeed one of the key metrics to consider when selecting an influencer for collaboration, regardless of the product type. What specific factors should we focus on?
First & foremost: the views dynamics on the channel. The most desirable type of YouTube channel in terms of views is one that maintains stable viewership across all of its videos. This stability serves as proof of an active and loyal audience genuinely interested in the creator’s content, unlike channels where views vary significantly from one video to another.
Many unauthentic crypto channels not only buy YouTube comments but also invest in increasing video views to create the impression of stability. So, what exactly should we look at in terms of views? Firstly, calculate the average number of views based on the ten latest videos. Then, compare this figure to the views of the most recent videos posted within the past week. If you notice that these new videos have nearly the same number of views as those posted a month or two ago, it’s a clear red flag. Typically, a YouTube channel experiences lower views on new videos, with the number increasing organically each day as the audience engages with the content. If you see a video posted just three days ago already garnering 30k views, matching the total views of older videos, it’s a sign of fraudulent traffic purchased to create the illusion of view stability.
3. Influencer’s channel statistics
The primary statistics of interest are region and demographic split, and sometimes the device types of the viewers.
LEVEL 1
When reviewing the shared statistics, the first step is to request a video screencast instead of a simple screenshot. This is because it takes more time to organically edit a video than a screenshot, making it harder to manipulate the statistics. If the creator refuses, step two (if only screenshots are provided) is to download them and check the file’s properties on your computer. Look for details such as whether it was created with Adobe Photoshop or the color profile, typically Adobe RGB, to determine if the screenshot has been edited.
LEVEL 2
After confirming the authenticity of the stats screenshot, it’s crucial to analyze the data. For instance, if you’re examining a channel conducted in Spanish with all videos filmed in the same language, it would raise concerns to find a significant audience from countries like India or Turkey. This discrepancy, where the audience doesn’t align with regions known for speaking the language, is a red flag.
If we’re considering an English-language crypto channel, it typically suggests an international audience, as English’s global use for quality educational content on niche topics like crypto. However, certain considerations apply. For instance, if an English-speaking channel shows a significant percentage of Polish viewers (15% to 30%) without any mention of the Polish language, it could indicate fake followers and views. However, if the channel’s creator is Polish, occasionally posts videos in Polish alongside English, and receives Polish comments, it’s important not to rush to conclusions.
Example of statistics
Wrapping up
These are the main factors to consider when selecting an influencer to promote your crypto product. Once you’ve launched the campaign, there are also some markers to show which creators did bring the authentic traffic and which used some tools to create the illusion of an active and engaged audience. While this may seem obvious, it’s still worth mentioning. After the video is posted, allow 5-7 days for it to accumulate a basic number of views, then check performance metrics such as views, clicks, click-through rate (CTR), signups, and conversion rate (CR) from clicks to signups.
If you overlooked some red flags when selecting crypto channels for your launch, you might find the following outcomes: channels with high views numbers and high CTRs, demonstrating the real interest of the audience, yet with remarkably low conversion rates. In the worst-case scenario, you might witness thousands of clicks resulting in zero to just a few signups. While this might suggest technical issues in other industries, in crypto campaigns it indicates that the creator engaged in the campaign not only bought fake views and comments but also link clicks. And this happens more often than you may realize.
Summing up, choosing the right crypto creator to promote your product is indeed a tricky job that requires a lot of resources to be put into the search process.
Author
Nadia Bubennikova, Head of agency at Famesters
The BIS, along with seven leading central banks and a cohort of private financial firms, has embarked on an ambitious venture known as Project Agorá.
Named after the Greek word for “marketplace,” this initiative stands at the forefront of exploring the potential of tokenisation to significantly enhance the operational efficiency of the monetary system worldwide.
Central to this pioneering project are the Bank of France (on behalf of the Eurosystem), the Bank of Japan, the Bank of Korea, the Bank of Mexico, the Swiss National Bank, the Bank of England, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. These institutions have joined forces under the banner of Project Agorá, in partnership with an extensive assembly of private financial entities convened by the Institute of International Finance (IIF).
At the heart of Project Agorá is the pursuit of integrating tokenised commercial bank deposits with tokenised wholesale central bank money within a unified, public-private programmable financial platform. By harnessing the advanced capabilities of smart contracts and programmability, the project aspires to unlock new transactional possibilities that were previously infeasible or impractical, thereby fostering novel opportunities that could benefit businesses and consumers alike.
The collaborative effort seeks to address and surmount a variety of structural inefficiencies that currently plague cross-border payments. These challenges include disparate legal, regulatory, and technical standards; varying operating hours and time zones; and the heightened complexity associated with conducting financial integrity checks (such as anti-money laundering and customer verification procedures), which are often redundantly executed across multiple stages of a single transaction due to the involvement of several intermediaries.
As a beacon of experimental and exploratory projects, the BIS Innovation Hub is committed to delivering public goods to the global central banking community through initiatives like Project Agorá. In line with this mission, the BIS will soon issue a call for expressions of interest from private financial institutions eager to contribute to this ground-breaking project. The IIF will facilitate the involvement of private sector participants, extending an invitation to regulated financial institutions representing each of the seven aforementioned currencies to partake in this transformative endeavour.
Source: fintech.globa
The post Central banks and the FinTech sector unite to change global payments space appeared first on HIPTHER Alerts.
TD Bank has inked a multi-year deal with Google Cloud as it looks to streamline the development and deployment of new products and services.
The deal will see the Canadian banking group integrate the vendor’s cloud services into a wider portion of its technology solutions portfolio, a move which TD expects will enable it “to respond quickly to changing customer expectations by rolling out new features, updates, or entirely new financial products at an accelerated pace”.
This marks an expansion of the already established relationship between TD Bank and Google Cloud after the group previously adopted the vendor’s Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) for TD Securities Automated Trading (TDSAT), the Chicago-based subsidiary of its investment banking unit, TD Securities.
TDSAT uses GKE for process automation and quantitative modelling across fixed income markets, resulting in the development of a “data-driven research platform” capable of processing large research workloads in trading.
Dan Bosman, SVP and CIO of TD Securities, claims the infrastructure has so far supported TDSAT with “compute-intensive quantitative analysis” while expanding the subsidiary’s “trading volumes and portfolio size”.
TD’s new partnership with Google Cloud will see the group attempt to replicate the same level of success across its entire portfolio.
Source: fintechfutures.com
The post TD Bank inks multi-year strategic partnership with Google Cloud appeared first on HIPTHER Alerts.
-
Latest News7 days ago
“The Hainan FTP and Me”: Looking at Hainan’s Transformations
-
Latest News5 days ago
Millions of people unite around doing good on the 18th International Good Deeds Day held yesterday worldwide
-
Latest News5 days ago
Banxso Acquires Australian ASIC License, Enhancing Its Global Trading Operations
-
Latest News4 days ago
BMO Announces Election of Board of Directors
-
Latest News5 days ago
135th Canton Fair Launches a Showcase of Innovative Products of New Collection to Lead Global Market Trends
-
Latest News6 days ago
BII and FMO back BECIS with joint US$50 million financing facility supporting commercial and industrial renewables sector in South-East Asia
-
Fintech1 day agoHow to identify authenticity in crypto influencer channels
-
Latest News4 days ago
HaloWallet Rebrands To Halo: Integrating SocialFi & AI To Revolutionize Social Influence Monetization
