Fintech
Beedie Investments Limited Enters Into a Convertible Loan Facility with Think Research Corporation
Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – May 11, 2022) – Beedie Investments Limited (the “Beedie”) has entered into a credit agreement dated April 22, 2022 (the “Credit Agreement”) with Think Research Corporation (“Think Research”) pursuant to which Beedie has agreed to loan up to $25 million (the “Loan Facility”) to Think Research.
The Loan Facility will be funded by way of an initial advance of $10 million (the “Initial Advance”) on the closing date (the “Closing Date”), and the remaining $15 million will be available for subsequent advances in minimum tranches of $3 million (each, a “Subsequent Advance”) over the term of the Loan Facility. The Loan Facility carries an interest rate of 8.5% on advanced funds and 1.25% on standby funds available, with the principal payment due 48 months after the Closing Date. Proceeds of the Initial Advance will be used to fund future acquisitions, organic growth investments, and general working capital purposes. Subsequent Advances will be used to finance the acquisition of complementary businesses or assets by Think Research.
At any time during the term of the Convertible Facility, Beedie may elect to convert the principal amount of the Initial Advance into common shares of Think Research (“Common Shares”) at a conversion price of $1.443 per Common Share, subject to adjustment in accordance with the terms of the Credit Agreement (the “Initial Conversion Price”). Subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, the principal amount of any Subsequent Advance under the Loan Facility will be convertible into Common Shares at a conversion price equal to the higher of: (i) the market price of the Common Shares, less the maximum permitted discount under applicable stock exchange rules; and (ii) a 25% premium above the 20 trading day volume weighted average price (“VWAP”) of the Common Shares, in each case measured on the close of trading on the trading day immediately prior to the announcement of the acquisition to be the financed with such Subsequent Advance.
Under the terms of the Credit Agreement, Think Research is entitled to require Beedie to convert up to 50% of the principal amount of the Initial Advance or any Subsequent Advance in the event that the 20 trading day VWAP of the Common Shares equals or exceeds a 50% premium to the Initial Conversion Price or the Subsequent Conversion Price, as applicable.
While Beedie has at least $10 million in capital invested in Think Research, Beedie will be entitled to have an observer on the board of directors of Think Research (the “Board”). Should Beedie own at least 15% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares, calculated on a non-diluted basis, it will have the option to require Think Research to nominate a representative to the Board of Think Research for the period it continues to hold at least 15% of such securities.
Immediately prior to entering into the Credit Agreement, Beedie, directly or indirectly, owned or controlled 1,059,900 Common Shares. Assuming conversion in full of the Initial Advance into Common Shares in accordance with the terms of the Credit Agreement, Beedie, directly or indirectly, would own or control a total of 7,989,906 Common Shares, representing approximately 12.1% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis. Assuming conversion in full of the entire Loan Facility into Common Shares in accordance with the terms of the Credit Agreement (assuming that all Subsequent Advances under the Loan Facility are converted into Common Shares at a conversion price of $0.85 per share, representing a 25% premium above the closing price of the Common Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange as May 10, 2022), Beedie, directly or indirectly, would own or control a total of 25,636,964 Common Shares, representing approximately 30.3% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis. The actual number of Common Shares issued pursuant to the conversion of any Subsequent Advances under the Loan Facility will depend upon the 20-day VWAP of the Common Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange applicable at the time.
All of the securities held by Beedie in Think Research, including the Common Shares and the Credit Agreement, are being held for investment purposes. Beedie may in the future take such actions in respect of its Think Research securityholdings as it deems appropriate in light of the market circumstances then existing, including the potential purchase of additional shares of Think Research through open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions, or the sale of all or a portion of such holdings in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions to one or more purchasers, or Beedie may continue to hold its current positions.
A copy of the early warning report relating to the Credit Agreement will be available under Think Research’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and may also be obtained by contacting Beedie Investments Limited at 604-435-3321. Beedie’s head office is located at 3030 Gilmore Diversion, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5G 3B4.
Neither 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 news release.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/123647
Fintech
Central banks and the FinTech sector unite to change global payments space
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
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Fintech
TD Bank inks multi-year strategic partnership with Google Cloud
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
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Fintech
MAS launches transformative platform to combat money laundering
The MAS has unveiled Cosmic, an acronym for Collaborative Sharing of Money Laundering/Terrorism Financing Information and Cases, a new money laundering platform.
According to Business Times, launched on April 1, Cosmic stands out as the first centralised digital platform dedicated to combating money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing on a worldwide scale. This move follows the enactment of the Financial Services and Markets (Amendment) Act 2023, which, along with its subsidiary legislation, commenced on the same day to provide a solid legal foundation and safeguards for information sharing among financial institutions (FIs).
Cosmic enables participating FIs to exchange customer information when certain “red flags” indicate potential suspicious activities. The platform’s introduction is a testament to MAS’s commitment to ensuring the integrity of the financial sector, mandating participants to establish stringent policies and operational safeguards to maintain the confidentiality of the shared information. This strategic approach allows for the efficient exchange of intelligence on potential criminal activities while protecting legitimate customers.
Significantly, Cosmic was co-developed by MAS and six leading commercial banks in Singapore—OCBC, UOB, DBS, Citibank, HSBC, and Standard Chartered—which will serve as participant FIs during its initial phase. The initiative emphasizes voluntary information sharing focused on addressing key financial crime risks within the commercial banking sector, such as the misuse of legal persons, trade finance, and proliferation financing.
Loo Siew Yee, assistant managing director for policy, payments, and financial crime at MAS, highlighted that Cosmic enhances the existing collaboration between the industry and law enforcement authorities, fortifying Singapore’s reputation as a well-regulated and trusted financial hub. Similarly, Pua Xiao Wei of Citi Singapore and Loretta Yuen of OCBC have expressed their institutions’ support for Cosmic, noting its potential to ramp up anti-money laundering efforts and its significance as a development in the banking sector’s ability to combat financial crimes efficiently. DBS’ Lam Chee Kin also praised Cosmic as a “game changer,” emphasizing the careful balance between combating financial crime and ensuring legitimate customers’ access to financial services.
Source: fintech.global
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