Fintech
SPARQ Systems Inc. and MJ Innovation Capital Corp. Announce Closing of $10,000,000 Private Placement
Toronto, Ontario–(Newsfile Corp. – December 22, 2021) – MJ Innovation Capital Corp. (TSXV: MSMJ.P) (“MJ“) and SPARQ Systems Inc. (“SPARQ“) are pleased to announce the closing of the previously announced brokered private placement (the “Offering“) of subscription receipts (the “Subscription Receipts“) of SPARQ. Pursuant to the Offering, SPARQ issued an aggregate of 20,000,000 Subscription Receipts at a price of $0.50 per Subscription Receipt (the “Issue Price“) for gross proceeds of $10,000,000. Echelon Capital Markets (the “Agent“) acted as agent and sole bookrunner for the Offering.
Summary of the Offering
The Offering was completed in connection with a series of transactions that will result in a reverse takeover of MJ by the shareholders of SPARQ (the “Transaction“). The Transaction will constitute MJ’s “Qualifying Transaction” as such term is defined in Policy 2.4 of the Corporate Finance Manual of the TSX Venture Exchange (the “TSXV“). Further details of the Transaction were previously announced on June 10, 2021 and September 15, 2021. References herein to the “Resulting Issuer” refer to MJ following the completion of the Transaction.
An aggregate of 20,000,000 Subscription Receipts were issued in connection with the Offering. Each Subscription Receipt, shall entitle the holder thereof to receive, upon the satisfaction or waiver (to the extent such waiver is permitted) of certain escrow release conditions (the “Escrow Release Conditions“) prior to the Escrow Release Deadline (as defined below), including all conditions precedent to the Transaction being satisfied, and without payment of additional consideration therefor, one unit of SPARQ (each, a “SPARQ Unit“). Each SPARQ Unit shall consist of one (1) common share in the capital of SPARQ (each, a “SPARQ Share“) and one (1) common share purchase warrant (each, a “SPARQ Warrant“) with each such SPARQ Warrant entitling the holder thereof to acquire one (1) additional SPARQ Share at a price of $0.75 per share for a period of 24 months from the date the Escrow Release Conditions are satisfied. On completion of the Transaction, each SPARQ Share and SPARQ Warrant underlying the Subscription Receipts will be converted into one (1) common share in the capital of the Resulting Issuer (each, a “Resulting Issuer Share“) and one (1) common share purchase warrant (each, a “Resulting Issuer Warrant“), all in accordance with the terms of the definitive agreement dated June 10, 2021 (as amended on September 14, 2021 and November 26, 2021) between SPARQ and MJ. Upon completion of the Transaction, the Resulting Issuer Shares will trade under the symbol SPRQ. An application has been made to the TSXV to list the Resulting Issuer Warrants.
In connection with the Offering, the Agent is entitled to receive a cash fee (the “Agent’s Commission“) in the amount equal to (i) 3.5% of the aggregate gross proceeds of the Offering from purchasers on the president’s list, including an additional 3.5% of the aggregate gross proceeds of the Offering from purchasers on the president’s list whose subscriptions are settled through members of the selling group; and (ii) 7.0% of the aggregate gross proceeds of the Offering in respect of all other purchasers and compensation options (the “Compensation Options“) to purchase an aggregate of number of SPARQ Units equal to (i) 3.5% of the aggregate number of Subscription Receipts sold to purchasers on the president’s list, including an additional 3.5% of the number of Subscription Receipts sold purchasers on the president’s list whose subscriptions are settled through members of the selling group; and (ii) 7.0% of the aggregate number of Subscription Receipts sold to all other purchasers. Each Compensation Option will be exercisable to acquire one SPARQ Unit at the Issue Price for a period of 24 months from the date the Escrow Release Conditions are satisfied. Upon completion of the Transaction, each holder of Compensation Options will receive Resulting Issuer Shares and Resulting Issuer Warrants in lieu of SPARQ Shares and SPARQ Warrants upon exercise of the Compensation Options, including the payment therefor. Resulting Issuer Warrants will expire 24 months following the date the Escrow Release Conditions are satisfied. On the closing of the Offering, the Agent received payment of 50% of the Agent’s Commission and was issued all of the Compensation Options. The remaining 50% of the Agent’s Commission will be paid to the Agent upon satisfaction or waiver (to the extent such waiver is permitted) of the Escrow Release Conditions.
The gross proceeds of the Offering (less an amount equal to 50% of the Agent’s Commission, and all of the reasonable costs and expenses of the Agent in connection with the Offering) have been deposited in escrow with the subscription receipt agent until the satisfaction or waiver (to the extent such waiver is permitted) of the Escrow Release Conditions, including all conditions precedent to the Transaction.
In the event that the Escrow Release Conditions have not been satisfied or waived (to the extent such waiver is permitted) by April 20, 2022, or such other date as SPARQ and the Agent may determine pursuant to the subscription receipt agreement (the “Escrow Release Deadline“), or SPARQ advises the Agent or announces to the public that it does not intend to satisfy the Escrow Release Conditions, or that the Transaction has been terminated in accordance with the terms of the definitive agreement between the MJ and SPARQ, the aggregate issue price of the Subscription Receipts together with any earned interest shall be returned to the applicable holders of the Subscription Receipts (net of any applicable withholding taxes), and such Subscription Receipts shall be automatically cancelled and be of no further force and effect.
All Subscription Receipts issued in connection with the Offering are subject to a statutory hold period in accordance with Canadian securities laws. Following completion of the Transaction, the Resulting Issuer Shares and Resulting Issuer Warrants received upon the exchange of the SPARQ Shares and SPARQ Warrants underlying the Subscription Receipts will not be subject to a statutory hold period in Canada.
The proceeds of the Offering are anticipated to be used principally for product development, increasing manufacturing capacity, and general working capital purposes.
ABOUT SPARQ
SPARQ was incorporated on June 16, 2009 pursuant to the provisions of Business Corporations Act (Ontario). SPARQ’s head office is located at 945 Princess Street, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 0E9. SPARQ originated from the advanced research conducted at ePOWER, the Centre for Energy and Power Electronics Research at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. SPARQ was founded at Queen’s University in 2009 by Canada Research Chair in Power Electronics, Dr. Praveen Jain, Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Royal Society of Canada.
SPARQ designs and manufactures next generation single-phase microinverters for residential and commercial solar electric applications. SPARQ has developed a proprietary photovoltaic (“PV“) solution called the Quad; the Quad inverter optimizes four PV modules with a single microinverter, simplifying design and installation, and lowering cost for solar power installations when compared to existing market offerings.
SPARQ’s operations are located in Ontario.
ABOUT MJ INNOVATION CAPITAL CORP.
MJ is a capital pool company created pursuant to the policies of the TSXV. It does not own any assets, other than cash or cash equivalents and its rights under the definitive agreement dated June 10, 2021 with SPARQ. The principal business of MJ is to identify and evaluate opportunities for the acquisition of an interest in assets or businesses and, once identified and evaluated, to negotiate an acquisition or participation subject to acceptance by the TSXV so as to complete a qualifying transaction in accordance with the policies of the TSXV.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements.” Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause MJ’s actual results, performance or achievements, or developments to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “intends,” “estimates,” “projects,” “potential” and similar expressions, or that events or conditions “will,” “would,” “may,” “could” or “should” occur.
Forward-looking statements in this document include, among others, statements relating to expectations regarding the completion of the Transaction (including all required approvals) and other statements that are not historical facts. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors and risks include, among others: (a) that there is no assurance that the parties hereto will obtain the requisite director, shareholder and regulatory approvals for the Transaction; (b) following completion of the Transaction, the Resulting Issuer may require additional financing from time to time in order to continue its operations which may not be available when needed or on acceptable terms and conditions acceptable; (c) domestic and foreign laws and regulations could adversely affect the Resulting Issuer’s business and results of operations; (d) a drop in retail pricing of electricity from utilities providers or other renewable energy sources or improved distribution of electricity could negatively impact the Resulting Issuer’s business; (e) the stock markets have experienced volatility that often has been unrelated to the performance of companies and these fluctuations may adversely affect the price of the Resulting Issuer’s securities, regardless of its operating performance; and (f) the impacts of COVID-19.
The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the expectations of MJ as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. MJ undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management’s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.
This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “U.S. Securities Act”) or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.
Completion of the Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, TSXV acceptance and, if applicable pursuant to TSXV requirements, majority of the minority shareholder approval. Where applicable, the Transaction cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.
Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the filing statement to be prepared in connection with the Transaction, any information released or received with respect to the Transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of a capital pool company should be considered highly speculative.
The TSXV has in no way passed upon the merits of the Transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release and accepts no responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
All information contained in this news release with respect to SPARQ and MJ was supplied by the parties respectively, for inclusion herein, without independent review by the other party, and each party and its directors and officers have relied on the other party for any information concerning the other party.
For more information, please contact:
MJ Innovation Capital Corp.
Bryan Van Engelen
Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Director
Telephone: 226.750.9914
SPARQ Systems Inc.
Dr. Praveen Jain
Chief Executive Officer
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 343.477.1158
Not for distribution to United States newswire services or for release
publication, distribution or dissemination directly, or indirectly, in whole or in part, in or into the United States.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/108383
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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.
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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.
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