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Anquiro Ventures and Black Pine Announce Potential Qualifying Transaction

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Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – February 24, 2023) – Anquiro Ventures Ltd. (TSXV: AQR.P) (the “Company“) and Black Pine Resources Corp. (“Black Pine“), a corporation incorporated under the laws of the Province of British Columbia, are pleased to announce that they have entered into a non-binding letter of intent dated February 21, 2023 (the “LOI“), whereby the Company is anticipated to acquire the business of Black Pine. The LOI outlines the terms and conditions pursuant to which the Company and Black Pine are anticipated to complete a three cornered amalgamation, whereby a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company will amalgamate with Black Pine under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) (the “Proposed Transaction“).

Upon completion of the Proposed Transaction, Black Pine will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (together, the “Resulting Issuer“). The Proposed Transaction, if completed, will constitute the Company’s “Qualifying Transaction” (as such term is defined in Policy 2.4 – Capital Pool Companies (“Policy 2.4“) of the TSX Venture Exchange (the “Exchange“)). Upon completion of the Proposed Transaction, the Resulting Issuer will carry on the business of Black Pine, and intends to list as a tier 2 mining issuer on the Exchange.

In exchange for each common share of Black Pine (a “BP Share“), the Company will issue to the shareholders of Black Pine, on a prospectus and registration exempt basis, one common share in the capital of the Company (a “Company Share“) at a deemed issuance price of $0.20 per Company Share (the “Resulting Issuer List Price“).

Prior to the effective time of the Proposed Transaction (the “Effective Time“), it is expected that Black Pine will complete two private placement offerings of securities in Black Pine as follows: (1) a private placement offering (the “Share Financing“) of up to 2,500,000 common shares in the capital of Black Pine (the “Financing Shares“) for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $250,000 at a price per Financing Share equal to $0.10; and (2) a private placement offering (the “SR Financing“, and together with the Share Financing, the “Concurrent Financings“) of up to 10,000,000 subscription receipts of Black Pine (“Subscription Receipts“) for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $2,000,000 at a price per Subscription Receipt equal to the Resulting Issuer List Price, subject to a minimum of the amount of unpaid invoices of the Company as at February 1, 2023 (the “Minimum Amount“). Each Subscription Receipt will automatically convert into one unit of Black Pine (an “SR Unit“), comprised of one common share (an “SR Share“) in the capital of Black Pine and one-half of one common share purchase warrant of Black Pine (each whole warrant, an “SR Warrant“), upon satisfaction of the certain escrow release conditions and at no additional cost to the holder. Each SR Warrant will be exercisable for a period of two years after its issuance to acquire one common share in the capital of the Target at a price per share of $0.35.

On completion of the Proposed Transaction, the securityholders of Black Pine will own a majority of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Resulting Issuer (the “Resulting Issuer Shares“). Assuming completion of the maximum Concurrent Financings, Black Pine is expected to hold approximately 86.34% of the Resulting Issuer and the Company is expected to hold approximately 13.66% of the Resulting Issuer on completion of the Proposed Transaction.

Ms. Nathe is the President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Company and is also a director of Black Pine. Mr. DeVries is a director of both the Company and of Black Pine. Mr. Richard Barnett is a director of AQR and the Chief Financial Officer of Black Pine. As such, Mr. DeVries, Ms. Nathe and Mr. Barnett are: (i) Non-Arm’s Length Parties and Insiders of the Company, and (ii) Non-Arm’s Length Parties and Insiders of Black Pine. The Company does not consider the Proposed Transaction to be a “Non-Arm’s Length Qualifying Transaction” (as such term is defined in Policy 2.4) as (i) Mr. DeVries holds more than 20% of the issued and outstanding Company Shares but less than 20% of the issued and outstanding BP Shares, (ii) Ms. Nathe holds less than 20% of the issued and outstanding Company Shares and less than 20% of the issued and outstanding BP Shares, and (iii) Mr. Barnett holds less than 20% of the issued and outstanding Company Shares and less than 20% of the issued and outstanding BP Shares.

Pursuant to the terms of the LOI, until the earlier of (i) the execution of the Definitive Agreement and (ii) the termination of the LOI (the “Exclusivity Period“), subject to extension by mutual written agreement, the Company and Black Pine agree to refrain from, directly or indirectly, (i) soliciting, initiating, encouraging, engaging in or responding to any inquiries, submissions, proposals or offers regarding any merger, amalgamation, share exchange, business combination, take-over bid, sale or other disposition of material assets, recapitalization, reorganization, liquidation, sale or issuance of a material number of treasury securities (except upon the due exercise of convertible or exchangeable securities outstanding on the date of the LOI) or rights or interests therein or thereto or rights or options to acquire any material number of treasury securities or any type of similar transaction involving it, other than with Black Pine or the Company, as applicable (each, an “Alternative Transaction“); (ii) encouraging or participating in any discussions or negotiations regarding any Alternative Transaction; (iii) agreeing to, approving or recommending an Alternative Transaction; or (iv) entering into any agreement related to an Alternative Transaction. Other than in certain exempt situations, the Company and Black Pine further agree to not issue any securities, option, debt or financial instruments.

The completion of the Proposed Transaction is subject to the satisfaction of various conditions as are standard for a transaction of this nature, including but not limited to (i) the negotiation and execution of the Definitive Agreement; (ii) the receipt of shareholder approval for the Proposed Transaction to the extent as required by applicable law and policies of the Exchange; (iii) the filing with the applicable securities regulatory authorities of a filing statement or information circular regarding the Proposed Transaction, (iv) the receipt of conditional approval from the Exchange for the Proposed Transaction and the listing of the Resulting Issuer Shares upon completion of the Proposed Transaction; and (v) the raise of the Minimum Amount pursuant to the Concurrent Financings. There can be no assurance that the Proposed Transaction will be completed on the terms proposed above or at all.

Trading in the Company Shares has been halted at the Company’s request and the halt is expected to continue pending the negotiation of the Definitive Agreement and the Exchange’s review and acceptance of materials for the Proposed Transaction.

Sponsorship of a Qualifying Transaction (as such term is defined in Policy 2.4) is required by the Exchange unless a waiver from the sponsorship requirement is obtained. The Company intends to apply for a waiver from sponsorship for the Proposed Transaction. There is no assurance that a waiver from this requirement will be obtained.

Black Pine

Black Pine was incorporated under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) on October 20, 2017, under the name “Digital Asset Management Corp.” On February 23, 2021, Black Pine changed its name to “Black Pine Resources Corp.”.

Black Pine is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties. Further to its principal business, Black Pine entered into a letter of intent (the “GBR LOI“) dated April 12, 2022, with Great Basin Resources Inc., a privately held natural resource company founded after the breakup of MinQuest Inc. in 2017 (“GBR“), pursuant to which it is entitled to earn an undivided 100% interest in the Sugarloaf Copper Project (the “Sugarloaf Property“), subject to a 2% net smelter royalty due to GBR and further subject to a cash payment of US$1,000,000 payable to GBR upon the Sugarloaf Property attaining commercial production, as defined it the GBR LOI, by (i) reimbursing GBR for all documented expenses, to a maximum of US$100,000 (paid), including for the preparation of a National Instrument 43-101 technical report; and (ii) expending (A) US$300,000 in exploration funds by no later than the first anniversary of the date of the closing of the transaction pursuant to the GBR LOI (the “GBR Closing Date“), (B) a cumulative aggregate of US$500,000 in exploration funds by no later than the second anniversary of the GBR Closing Date, (C) a cumulative aggregate of US$1,500,000 in exploration funds by no later than the third anniversary of the GBR Closing Date, and (D) a cumulative aggregate of US$3,000,000 in exploration funds by no later than the fourth anniversary of the GBR Closing Date. The Sugarloaf Property is situated approximately 10 miles southwest of Silver City, New Mexico, USA, and consists of 77 unpatented claims totaling 1,544 hectares.

Additional information regarding Black Pine can be viewed on its website at www.blackpineresources.com.

Anquiro Ventures Ltd.

The Company was incorporated under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) on March 1, 2012, and is a Capital Pool Company (as such term is defined in Policy 2.4) listed on the Exchange. The Company has no commercial operations and no assets other than cash.

Further Information

This is an initial press release. The Company and Black Pine plan to issue additional press releases, including a comprehensive news release in accordance with the policies of the Exchange providing further details in respect of the Proposed Transaction, the Definitive Agreement, including its date, a description of the proposed Significant Assets (as such terms are defined in Policy 2.4), the officers, directors, Insiders and Principals (as such term is defined in Policy 2.4) of the Resulting Issuer, whether shareholder approval is required in connection with the Proposed Transaction, and other material information as it becomes available.

For further information, please contact:

Anquiro Ventures Ltd.
595 Howe Street, Suite 303,
Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 2T5
Canada

Contact: Keturah Nathe, CEO, President and Director
Telephone: 604-718-2800

Black Pine Resources Corp.
c/o 1066 West Hastings Street, Suite 2600,
Vancouver, British Columbia V6E 3X1
Canada

Contact: Richard Drew Martel, CEO
Telephone: 604-685-9911 ext. 309

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This press release does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The securities being offered have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and such securities may not be offered or sold within the United States absent U.S. registration or an applicable exemption from U.S. registration requirements.

Completion of the Proposed Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to the Exchange acceptance and, if applicable pursuant to the Exchange requirements, majority of the minority shareholder approval. Where applicable, the Proposed Transaction cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the Proposed Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.

Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or filing statement to be prepared in connection with the Proposed Transaction, any information released or received with respect to the Proposed Transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative.

The Exchange has in no way passed upon the merits of the Proposed Transaction and has not approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains statements which constitute “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company and Black Pine with respect to future business activities and operating performance. Forward-looking information is often identified by the words “may”, “would”, “could”, “should”, “will”, “intend”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect” or similar expressions and includes information regarding: expectations regarding whether the Proposed Transaction will be consummated, whether the Concurrent Financings will be completed, including whether conditions to the consummation of the Proposed Transaction and completion of the Concurrent Financings will be satisfied, or the timing for completing the Proposed Transaction and Concurrent Financings.

Investors are cautioned that forward-looking information is not based on historical facts but instead reflect management of the Company and Black Pine’s expectations, estimates or projections concerning future results or events based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made. Although the Company and Black Pine believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, such information involves risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such information, as unknown or unpredictable factors could have material adverse effects on future results, performance or achievements of the combined company. Among the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information are the following: the ability to consummate the Proposed Transaction and/or Concurrent Financings; the ability of Black Pine to earn an option pursuant to the GBR LOI; the ability of Black Pine to satisfy the requirements of the GBR LOI; the ability to obtain requisite regulatory and other approvals and the satisfaction of other conditions to the consummation of the Proposed Transaction and/or Concurrent Financings on the proposed terms and schedule; the potential impact of the announcement or consummation of the Proposed Transaction and/or Concurrent Financings on relationships, including with regulatory bodies, employees, suppliers, customers and competitors; changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; changes in applicable laws; compliance with extensive government regulation; and the diversion of management time on the Proposed Transaction and/or Concurrent Financings. This forward-looking information may be affected by risks and uncertainties in the business of the Company and Black Pine and market conditions.

Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company and Black Pine have attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company and Black Pine do not intend, and do not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information except as otherwise required by applicable law.

Not for distribution to United States newswire services or for
dissemination in the United States.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/156012

Fintech

How to identify authenticity in crypto influencer channels

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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.

 

  1. 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

Author

Nadia Bubennikova, Head of agency at Famesters

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Fintech

Central banks and the FinTech sector unite to change global payments space

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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

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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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