Category: Finance Companies

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HIVE Announces Investment in Titan, Leading Blockchain Software Company

This news release constitutes a “designated news release” for the purposes of the Company’s prospectus supplement dated February 2, 2021 to its short form base shelf prospectus dated January 27, 2021.

Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – December 1, 2021) – HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. (TSXV: HIVE) (NASDAQ: HIVE) (FSE: HBF) (the “Company” or “HIVE”) is pleased to announce its investment in Titan.IO, Inc. (“Titan”), a cutting-edge blockchain software company and the creator of Lumerin, a next generation decentralized mining marketplace where hashpower can be bought and sold using tokens.

Today Titan offers software which helps Bitcoin miners increase their efficiency and scalability at a flat, low cost. It also operates the Titan Mining Pool, which recently surpassed 3 Exahash of Bitcoin mining capacity.

Titan has also announced a disruptive decentralized hashpower routing protocol named Lumerin. The open source Lumerin Protocol is a peer-to-peer solution that enables the exchange of hashpower through smart contracts, making crypto mining hashpower tradable and liquid.

The Lumerin Protocol will allow companies and individuals to buy, sell, and deliver hashpower, achieving decentralization through free market dynamics. Furthermore, the Lumerin Protocol will make Bitcoin hashpower a tradable, liquid financial asset, unlocking mining profitability and providing greater access to capital and hedging strategies.

The investment in Titan has been structured as a share exchange where HIVE will issue to Titan securities consisting of shares and warrants having a value of USD $5 million at CAD $6/share, the same terms as the recently-announced private placement. Titan will issue to HIVE common shares in an amount representing 10{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} of the outstanding equity of Titan. The transaction is pending TSX Venture Exchange approval.

Other investors in Titan include Coinbase Ventures and Fenbushi Capital.

HIVE’s investment in Titan will mark the Company’s fourth equity investment of the year. Previous investments include DeFi Technologies, Network Media Group, and a seed investment in Tokens.com.

HIVE Executive Chairman Frank Holmes strongly endorses the Titan team, stating: “We’re backing an extremely strong technological team at Titan, led by expert 15-year veteran software coder CEO Ryan Condron. We were also impressed by Matthew Roszak, co-founder and chairman of Bloq, a leading enterprise software blockchain company. And co-founder Jeff Garzik was an early Bitcoin core developer. HIVE wants to participate in growth in the blockchain ecosystem such as mining software, transparent pools and innovative new tokens, and this is another strategic way to do that. We look forward to working with Titan to capture new opportunities as Bitcoin mining power shifts from China to North America.”

Ryan Condron, Titan’s CEO and Co-Founder, echoed Frank’s sentiment. “We’re very excited to be partnering with HIVE. We founded Titan in order to maximize the optimization and decentralization of mining at any scale. In that journey, we have greatly appreciated HIVE’s expertise and leadership in the mining space. We look forward to working with them to maximize mining efficiency and transform hashpower into a global tradeable commodity using the Lumerin Protocol.”

About HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd.

HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. went public in 2017 as the first cryptocurrency mining company with a 100{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} green energy focus and an ESG strategy.

HIVE is a growth-oriented technology stock in the emergent blockchain industry. As a company whose shares trade on a major stock exchange, we are building a bridge between the digital currency and blockchain sector and traditional capital markets. HIVE owns state-of-the-art, green energy-powered data centre facilities in Canada, Sweden, and Iceland, where we source only green energy to mine on the cloud and HOLD both Ethereum and Bitcoin. Since the beginning of 2021, HIVE has held in secure storage the majority of its ETH and BTC coin mining rewards. Our shares provide investors with exposure to the operating margins of digital currency mining, as well as a portfolio of cryptocurrencies such as ETH and BTC. Because HIVE also owns hard assets such as data centers and advanced multi-use servers, we believe our shares offer investors an attractive way to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency space. HIVE traded over 2 billion shares in 2020.

We encourage you to visit HIVE’s YouTube channel here to learn more about HIVE.

For more information and to register to HIVE’s mailing list, please visit www.HIVEblockchain.com. Follow @HIVEblockchain on Twitter and subscribe to HIVE’s YouTube channel.

On Behalf of HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd.
“Frank Holmes”
Executive Chairman

For further information please contact:
Frank Holmes
Tel: (604) 664-1078

About Titan

Titan provides powerful software and services for crypto mining at scale and now offers the first enterprise-grade mining pool. The Lumerin Protocol is a peer-to-peer solution that makes Bitcoin hashpower a tradable, liquid financial asset, unlocking mining profitability and providing greater access to capital. Titan was founded in September 2018 by Ryan Condron, Jeff Garzik, and Matthew Roszak. For more information, please visit Titan.io and Lumerin.io and follow us on Twitter at @Titan_Mining.

For further information please contact:
Lewis Farrell
lewis@titan.io
(650) 485-9912

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 news release

Forward-Looking Information

Except for the statements of historical fact, this news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation that is based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. “Forward-looking information” in this news release includes information about the outcomes of the strategic investment in Titan.io; potential for the Company’s long term growth; the business goals and objectives of the Company, and other forward-looking information includes but is not limited to information concerning the intentions, plans and future actions of the parties to the transactions described herein and the terms thereon.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, if the strategic investment with Titan.io is not as successful as the Company hopes that it will be; the Company’s ability to successfully mine digital currency; the Company may not be able to profitably liquidate its current digital currency inventory, or at all; a decline in digital currency prices may have a significant negative impact on the Company’s operations; the volatility of digital currency prices; and other related risks as more fully set out in the Filing Statement of the Company dated and other documents disclosed under the Company’s filings at www.sedar.com.

This news release also contains “financial outlook” in the form of gross mining margins, which is intended to provide additional information only and may not be an appropriate or accurate prediction of future performance and should not be used as such. The gross mining margins disclosed in this news release are based on the assumptions disclosed in this news release and the Company’s Management Discussion and Analysis for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, which assumptions are based upon management’s best estimates but are inherently speculative and there is no guarantee that such assumptions and estimates will prove to be correct.

The forward-looking information in this news release reflects the current expectations, assumptions and/or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company. In connection with the forward-looking information contained in this news release, the Company has made assumptions about the Company’s ability to realize operational efficiencies going forward into profitability; profitable use of the Company’s assets going forward; the Company’s ability to profitably liquidate its digital currency inventory as required; historical prices of digital currencies and the ability of the Company to mine digital currencies will be consistent with historical prices; and there will be no regulation or law that will prevent the Company from operating its business. The Company has also assumed that no significant events occur outside of the Company’s normal course of business. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such information due to the inherent uncertainty therein.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/106062

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Litigation Finance Companies Eye Law Firm Ownership in Arizona

Two major litigation finance companies say Arizona’s loosening of legal industry regulations opens the door for them to co-own law firms.

Burford Capital Ltd. and Longford Capital Management LP executives said that with Arizona no longer requiring lawyers to own firms—and other states considering similar steps—law partners will increasingly consider the benefits of non-attorney ownership stakes.

“Equity investors will start to take notice,” said William Farrell Jr., Longford’s co-founder and managing director, in an interview. “The first of those groups will likely be large-scale litigation funders like Longford Capital because we have the greatest relationships and insights into what makes law firms successful.”

Litigation finance ownership would be a radical shift in how firms are structured and run. Currently, the financiers pay for individual lawsuits—or tranches of them—with a profit goal if their parties win. But ownership would give the funders more say in how firms spend money and which cases they take.

Arizona’s model would let Burford work across all of parts of a law operation, said Emily Slater, Burford’s managing director. Burford would “be a broader investor in the firm’s profitability over time,” she said, and it could “take that risk with the firm as it continues to grow or contract.”

Mid-size firms and litigation boutiques may be willing to take up litigation funders on ownership offers, said Marcie Borgal Shunk, president of Houston-based The Tilt Institute, a law firm consultancy.

“I see opportunities for collaboration, especially at the behest of clients or in pursuit of market disruption,” Shunk said. “There are plenty of break-off firms and forward-thinkers looking to find a new, better way to deliver legal services. There is no reason why litigation funders cannot be part of that equation.”

Arizona Experiment

The Arizona experiment took root when the state’s supreme court last year eliminated its version of ethics Rule 5.4. That rule barred non-lawyers from having an economic interest in law firms or other legal service operations.

The supreme court’s goal with the move was to try to increase low- and middle-income Arizonans’ access to legal services.

The state so far has approved 12 legal companies to take part in its alternative business structure program since the regulatory changes took effect Jan. 1. The companies include LZ Legal Services, an Arizona-focused subsidiary of the online consumer and business law giant LegalZoom.

Graphic: Jonathan Hurtarte/Bloomberg Law

Other businesses have applied, including Rocket Lawyer, which is already part of legal services experiment in Utah. Other states considering legal regulatory changes include California, New York, Illinois, Michigan and North Carolina.

Longford’s Farrell said his company most likely will refrain from acting on law firm co-ownership until other states beyond Arizona loosen their rules.

He said he hasn’t spoken with any of the 12 companies that are part of Arizona’s program, though he discussed related topics over the last year with attorneys from several law firms. Farrell declined to name them.

‘Split Loyalties’

The AmLaw 200 firm Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie, which has two offices in Arizona, has received about a dozen calls and emails from mostly smaller private equity groups eager to discuss possible investments, said Ken Van Winkle, the firm’s managing partner.

They all got the same answer—no. “It doesn’t work for us,” Van Winkle said.

Lewis Roca would need to create a separate entity in Arizona because its offices in Colorado, Nevada, California, and New Mexico are in states that prohibit non-lawyer ownership of firms, Van Winkle said.

He also said he’s worried about the drive for profits a litigation funder or private equity investor would bring to a law firm partnership.

“Our job, our loyalty, our commitment is to our clients and not to an investor,” Van Winkle said. “I would worry about the possibility of split loyalties.”

Such ownership could also compromise lawyer independence, said Stephen Younger, a Foley Hoag partner and past president of the New York Bar Association.

“If they were there,” he said of litigation funders, “around the table at a partners meeting, that’s a much different dynamic.”

VIDEO: Bloomberg Law’s Roy Strom gives a peek inside the growing practice of litigation finance and explains what it means for the future of the business of law.

Profit Motive

Longford and other litigation funders argue their co-ownership roles would spur firms to make sustained investments in innovations like legal technology that would aid them over the long haul.

Farrell said partnerships would benefit clients through reduced legal fees and by luring top-level C Suite executives, including non-lawyers, to manage the new companies.

Clients shouldn’t worry that profit motives might trump lawyer independence under new ownership models, said Burford Director Andrew Cohen in a written statement.

Arizona ethics Rule 2.1, for example, already requires that lawyers “exercise independent professional judgment” regardless of external factors such as financing, he said.

“So where non-lawyer ownership is allowed, when a lawyer is advising a client, their ethical obligation is first and foremost to that client—as in every other type of funding situation,” Cohen said.

Industry Growth

Litigation finance became a $39 billion industry worldwide in 2019, according to the AmLaw 200 firm Brown Rudnick. While funders typically only get paid if the suits result in monetary awards, the returns can be as high as two-to-three times their investment.

Burford said earlier this year it will receive $103 million as a result of funding litigation by Tatiana Akhmedova, the ex-wife of billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov, in the largest financial dispute Britain’s divorce courts have ever seen, Bloomberg News reported. Akhmedov agree to pay 135 million pounds ($186 million).

Burford’s investment in a lawsuit seeking damages from Argentina’s 2012 nationalization of state-run oil producer YPF SA, known as the “Peterson” case, had brought in $236 million for the company as of March.

But deals don’t always end happily. Pravati Capital, which works with individual attorneys and small firms, has been forced to arbitrate with at least 14 of its clients in part over claims that the deals they struck with law firms ensured that the company gets paid back even if the case being funded loses, according to a Bloomberg Law account.

Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Pravati declined to respond to questions about whether the company is considering Arizona ventures because of the state law firm ownership rule change.

Another litigation financer, Omni Bridgeway, also declined comment.

Overseas Owners

There is precedent for litigation funders becoming co-owners of law firms—overseas. In mid-2020, Burford gained equity when it assumed a minority ownership stake in the boutique U.K. law firm, PCB Litigation.

But in the U.S., other jurisdictions with larger legal markets need to join Arizona in scrapping Rule 5.4—or at least approve experimental programs like Utah has, litigation finance executives said.

This could happen within two-to-three years, said Farrell, given that California and other large states also have begun to weigh the benefits of rule changes.

“It might become a popular trend,” Farrell said. “We want to be ready to seize opportunities.”

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Tricor Group Completes Acquisition of NZGT Holding Company Limited, A Leading Corporate Trustee and Fund Supervisor in New Zealand with NZ$250 Billion in Funds under Supervision

HONG KONG & SINGAPORE & AUCKLAND, New Zealand, November 29, 2021–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Tricor Group (Tricor), Asia’s leading business expansion specialist, has received regulatory approval and completed its acquisition of NZGT Holding Company Limited (NZGT Holdings) together with its wholly owned subsidiaries The New Zealand Guardian Trust Company Limited (Guardian Trust) and Covenant Trustee Services Limited (Covenant) from Complectus Limited on November 25, 2021.

Tricor is the largest pure-play corporate services platform in Asia Pacific, serving over 50,000 client entities across its 21-market footprint. A positive move for Guardian Trust and Covenant, this acquisition will see the group and its New Zealand clients benefit from Tricor’s significant financial backing and global best practices.

Guardian Trust and Covenant are the leading providers of corporate supervisory services with over NZ$250 billion in funds under supervision. Guardian Trust has operated in New Zealand for over 125 years. Guardian Trust and Covenant will continue to grow its team and capabilities through further investment by Tricor Group. Day to day operations remain unchanged.

Tricor’s Global Corporate Trust business will operate and serve clients across five global markets including Hong Kong SAR, Beijing, Singapore, the UK and New Zealand.

Lennard Yong, Tricor Group CEO, said: “I am pleased to welcome Guardian Trust and Covenant to Tricor Group. This acquisition broadens our footprint in ANZ and places Tricor in an enhanced position to better serve our clients. The addition of Guardian Trust and Covenant significantly strengthens Tricor’s global corporate trust practice with market-leading and differentiated trust solutions in New Zealand and across Australasia and Asia-Pacific. We are very grateful for the approval to be stewards of these two leading institutions. Our goal is to support the management team led by Harry Koprivcic and to grow these businesses within their respective markets and to add to our regional corporate trust platform in Asia Pacific.”

David Naphtali and Jonathan Hatch, Co-Managing Directors of Madison Pacific, A Tricor Company, leading the integration of Guardian Trust and Covenant into the Tricor Corporate Trust Business Division, said: “We look forward to working with the fantastic team to bolster the corporate trust solutions we can provide our corporate clients across Asia Pacific and the UK.”

Harry Koprivcic, CEO of NZGT Holdings, said: “As a leading corporate trustee in New Zealand, we are starting a new chapter by becoming part of a large global entity. Enhanced by the capabilities of Tricor, we will continue to deliver exceptional corporate solutions to our clients.”

About Tricor Group

Tricor Group (Tricor) is Asia’s leading business expansion specialist, with global knowledge and local expertise in business, corporate, investor, human resources & payroll, corporate trust & debt services, and governance advisory. Tricor provides the building blocks for clients’ business growth, from incorporation to IPO. Tricor has had a rapid expansion through organic growth and development as well as partnerships, mergers and acquisitions. The Group today has ~50,000 clients globally (including ~20,000 clients in Mainland China), a staff strength of over 2,800 and a network of offices in 47 cities across 21 countries / territories. Our client portfolio includes over 2,000 listed companies in Hong Kong SAR, Mainland China, Singapore and Malaysia, and more than 40{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} of the Fortune Global 500 companies, as well as a significant share of multinationals and private enterprises operating across international markets.

Visit: www.tricorglobal.com

About Complectus

Complectus was established in 2014 and is the dominant and most innovative fiduciary services group in the New Zealand market.

About Guardian Trust and Covenant

Guardian Trust and Covenant have a market-leading position and are experienced in all aspects of corporate trust work. They are leading providers of corporate trustee services to the New Zealand market. Guardian Trust has been recognized by KangaNews as the leading provider of trustee services by being awarded the New Zealand Trustee of the Year for four years running.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211128005198/en/

Contacts

HONG KONG SAR (GROUP OFFICE)
Sunshine Farzan
Tricor Services Limited
Group Head of Marketing & Communications
Tel: +852 2980 1261
Email: Sunshine.Farzan@hk.tricorglobal.com

NEW ZEALAND
Laura Air
Alexander PR
Group Account Director
Tel: +64 21 259 3242
Email: laura@alexanderpr.co.nz

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Fighting disinformation ‘requires a little bit of courage’ for social media companies: Doctor

Combatting misinformation has become one of the most important issues the medical community faces, according to experts like Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency room physician in Providence, R.I.

Just as a new coronavirus variant of concern, Omicron, has been identified, the rush of information shared and discussed on social media sites once again shows how quickly information, and in some cases misinformation, can spread. It’s a problem that has been ongoing throughout the pandemic.

Though social media can be a force for good, “the worst of social media has come to the forefront over the course of the pandemic,” she told Yahoo Finance.

This time, more public health, virus and medical experts are on social platforms quickly churning out facts and verified information. But even so, with greater knowledge of the social media companies’ abilities to control false information, the call for more accountability is growing louder.

More than 800 doctors and health experts have signed onto a letter asking Meta Platforms (FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg to disclose data and strategies that Facebook is using to help stop the spread of false information about the vaccines and virus. The letter was sent through Doctors for America, a non-profit physician-led advocacy group.

“So many deaths could have been prevented, and we must act with haste to prevent more, particularly with vaccines becoming imminently available for young children. We simply cannot afford another deadly round of COVID and vaccine misinformation,” the doctors wrote.

Ranney, and others that signed, said the letter to Facebook signals an attempt to “diagnose” the problem.

“It requires a little bit of courage, and looking beyond potentially the immediate bottom line, to the larger societal good,” she said.

‘There’s a need to regulate algorithmic engagement’

Dr. Céline Gounder, an infectious diseases expert in New York City who formerly served on President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 transition team, is the letter’s first signatory. 

“I think there’s no question that having a whistleblower like Francis Haugen has really energized efforts around the spread of disinformation,” she said. Haugen is the former Facebook employee who disclosed tens of thousands of the company’s internal documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission and The Wall Street Journal in 2021.

“There’s a need to regulate algorithmic engagement,” she added, noting it’s easier said than done.

Another signatory, Dr. Robert Davidson, executive director of The Committee to Protect Health Care, and a doctor in the Midwest, said that while it is easy for anyone to unwittingly share false information, there should be a way to stop harmful information — especially in the middle of a deadly outbreak.

“Facebook and other social media outlets have the ability to amplify (information), and to concentrate it in front of a group of people that algorithms have pre-selected will be receptive to that information…so it almost makes it easier for the viral spread of misinformation,” he said.

Davidson said that the sharing of the information isn’t necessarily intentional, some people just genuinely share information that they think is interesting. Usually they don’t know any better and it reaffirms some pre-conceived notion, and then within the echo chamber — which could be a different echo chamber from a doctor or expert —it continues to circulate and spread wider, he said.

Which is why more experts have increasingly taken to social media to fight back.

“It feels like a Sisyphean task. At the end of the day, yeah, you can keep fighting those micro battles, but the only way to really solve it is to tackle what is really driving it,” Gounder said, pointing to social media companies as ground zero.

Both sides

According to the doctors, Facebook cited the quickly changing information throughout the pandemic as a hurdle for fact-checkers.

Delays in addressing false information helps fan the flames of mistrust in official sources and mainstream media, which is a prominent among those willing to believe the misinformation. Examples throughout the pandemic include the doctors who supported the use of hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin to treat covid, when neither was proven efficacious.

In those instances, individuals see the discord among people with equivalent titles, and can pounce on it as proof of conspiracy theories, Davidson said.

“You might have 2{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} of doctors saying something that is patently false. But this person has MD after their name … so it gives them this degree of credibility,” and gives the broader public the perception that there is no right answer, he said.

One example of an ongoing debate between experts is the need for boosters for all adults — recently greenlit by FDA, supporting the White House strategy to combat an anticipated winter surge.

“There’s widespread agreement that certain populations would benefit from an additional dose of vaccine. Right now, the question is, is that the case for everybody? And what is it you’re trying to achieve with (an additional dose)?” Gounder said.

Some believe that indications of waning immunity mean better protection against symptomatic cases, while others believe that the body can be relied on to do a decent job fighting against an infection even if it is symptomatic.

And general anti-vaccine sentiment is visibly higher than before, which pits doctors against their peers.

“I have a harder time convincing some patients to take a vaccine than I did before COVID,” said Dr. Stella Safo, founder of Just Equity for Health and a physician in New York City.

“We’ve gone from things being accepted to questioning some of the most basic things. It’s scary,” Safo told Yahoo Finance.

Lending a hand

Hiring experts to be fact-checkers, especially for the duration of the pandemic, could be a solution, though costly, for social platforms.

“There’s never been a time where someone has ever said there are microchips in the vaccines, and yet that kind of information has been shared in the past. There’s never been credible research or studies that have shown anything about infertility with the vaccines, but that is a pervasive and widely-held belief amongst folks who don’t believe in getting the vaccine,” Davidson said.

“If they could have some trusted source to help them filter through this as they put the brakes on these posts, and then they can prevent these things from getting out there in the first place,” Davidson said.

Safo said more needs to be done to help craft easier-to-digest messaging.

“We have proven ourselves, unfortunately, to be very bad at health care communication,” Safo said.

“We’ve put ourselves back, I would say, in terms of public health communications, by a decade,” she added.

More doctors, more voices

The pandemic saw a groundswell of vocal doctors, scientists and public health experts on social platforms, some of whom might have been in the shadows or relied on trade groups or large organizations to be their mouthpieces in the past.

“I think a lot more are choosing to get out there … and I think that has to do a lot, probably, with the changing demographics and the changing business aspect of what being a health care professional is. There are many more women in health care, there are many more people of color in health care,” Davidson said.

“We could have done this sooner. I think in some ways, the health care and public health communities are finally at least a little bit coming up for a breath of air. It feels like we have been drowning underwater…for the last few years. And it’s hard to tackle everything at the same time,” Gounder said.

As more is now known about the virus, how it spreads, and with just over half the U.S. population vaccinated, experts have a chance to fight harder against misinformation.

“I think we’re finally sort of in a place of being able to take on these bigger macro issues in a more significant way,” Gounder said.

And with the U.S. Surgeon General’s Office supporting a movement to address misinformation, calling it a public health issue earlier this year, the timing is right to attack the issue. But that is also if doctors, who have found their voices on social platforms throughout the pandemic, can continue to do so without organizations and trade groups taking over the messaging.

“I would hope that that continues,” Ranney said.

“If we don’t turn this ship,” she added, “I think this is only the beginning of the harm that we’ll face.”

Follow Anjalee on Twitter @AnjKhem

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Pender Growth Fund Provides Financial Highlights and Company Updates

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Pender Growth Fund Inc. (the “Company” or “Pender”) today announced its financial and operational results for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2021.

Financial Highlights (Unaudited)

  • Net income was $75,339,050 for the three months ended September 30, 2021 (September 30, 2020 – $2,730,979) primarily the result of positive investment performance in the quarter.

  • Net income per Share for the three months ended September 30, 2021 was $9.89 (September 30, 2020 – $0.35).

  • Shareholders’ equity per Class C common share (“Share”) was $17.31 as at September 30, 2021 (December 31, 2020 – $6.11).

  • The Company’s total shareholders’ equity was $131.9 million as at September 30, 2021, an increase from December 31, 2020 ($47.3 million) that was primarily the result of positive investment performance during the period.

  • Shares outstanding were 7,616,529, a decrease from December 31, 2020 (7,740,129) that was the result of share repurchases under the Company’s Normal Course Issuer Bid (“NCIB”) which was renewed on February 11, 2021.

  • At September 30, 2021, 85.8{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} of the investment portfolio is in private companies and 14.2{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} is in publicly-listed companies.

PERFORMANCE
(based on Shareholders’ Equity)

3 Month

1 Year

3 Year

5 Year

Since Inception

Class C

47.2{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}

81.5{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}

29.2{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}

15.6{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}

21.3{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}

  • Management Expense Ratio (“MER”) was 4.30{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} for the quarter ended September 30, 2021, up from 2.96{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} over the same period in the prior period, primarily due to the increase in management fees as a result of the increase in total Net Assets, plus, additional financing expenses.

Portfolio Highlights

We believe that the Company is particularly well-positioned today to pursue its investment objectives in the context of current market volatility and valuations in micro and small cap stocks in North America.

During the period we continued to be active in public markets where we saw what we believed to be strong opportunities both in longer-term compounders and potentially shorter-term close the discount situations. With the continued strength in small cap markets, we have been decreasing some positions and continue to work on new opportunities to deploy capital at attractive rates of return.

As always, this quarter we worked closely with our private portfolio companies and certain of our public portfolio companies. We are pleased to see private technology companies from within our portfolio flourish and build value, including having the opportunity to go public.

In particular, Copperleaf Technologies Inc., a portfolio company we own both directly and indirectly through our investment in Pender Private Investments Inc., listed on the TSX at $15.00 per share under the symbol “CPLF” in early October.

At September 30, 2021, the Company held approximately 97{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} or 16.7 million Legacy Shares of Pender Private Investments Inc. (“PPI”), formerly the Working Opportunity Fund (EVCC) Ltd. (“WOF”). These shares were acquired from shareholders of WOF (“Exiting Shareholders”) under the previously announced transaction (the “WOF” Transaction”). The scheduled second payment for the remaining 50{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} of the proceeds from the sale of their shares has been issued to former WOF shareholders.

Under the Legacy Shares rights, PPI is required to redeem them, on a pro rata basis at NAV, upon PPI‘s receipt of cash proceeds for the sale of any of its portfolio investments. PPI recently received cash proceeds for its divestment of Redlen Technologies Inc. and Teradici Corporation, and redeemed approximately 58.49{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} of Legacy Shares on a pro rata basis. In October, the Company received a total of $63,197,947 on redemption of 9.8 million of the Legacy Shares it held. This redemption triggered a requirement for the Company to pay an additional cash payment of $21,136,513, or $1.2661 per share, to the Exiting Shareholders and the Company made the payment effective October 13, 2021.

Other Highlights

On February 11, 2021, the Company launched a new NCIB, under which the Company may purchase a maximum of 700,866 shares, or 10{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} of the Company’s public float on launch date, in the year ending February 11, 2022. During the period we continued to acquire shares of the Company in the market under our NCIB because we believe the shares are trading at a discount to their intrinsic value.

We encourage you to refer to the Company’s MD&A and quarterly unaudited financial statements for the September 30, 2021 and the annual audited financial statements for the year-ended December 31, 2020 as well as other disclosures available under the Company’s profile at www.sedar.com for additional information.

Recent Developments

Redlen Technologies Inc, (“Redlen”)

On September 9, 2021, Redlen, one of PPI’s key long-term private investees, reached an agreement with Canon Inc. (“Canon”) to conclude a share transfer agreement, with the goal of enabling Canon to accelerate the development of Photon Counting CT systems and continue to contribute to the advancement of diagnostic imaging. The acquisition was completed on September 28, 2021, resulting in PPI’s divestment of Redlen, as Redlen became a wholly owned subsidiary of Canon.

Teradici Corporation (“Teradici”)

During the quarter, Teradici, one of PPI’s key long-term private investees, entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by HP Inc. (“HP”) with the goal of enhancing HP’s capabilities in the Personal Systems category by delivering new computer models and software-enabled digital services tailored for hybrid work. The acquisition was completed on October 1, 2021, resulting in PPI’s divestment of this holding.

Copperleaf Technologies Inc. (“Copperleaf”)

As at September 30, 2021, the Company held 12.9{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} of Copperleaf’s issued and outstanding shares, both directly and through its investment in PPI. On October 7, 2021, Copperleaf’s common shares began trading on the TSX under the symbol “CPLF”. The company raised $161.1 million at $15.00 per common share.

About the Company
The Company’s objective is to achieve long-term capital appreciation for its investors. The Company utilizes its small capital base and long-term horizon to invest in unique situations, primarily small cap, special situations, and illiquid public and private companies. The Company trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “PTF”. The Company posts its Reporting Nav on its website, generally within five business days of each month end.

Please visit www.pendergrowthfund.com.

For further information, please contact:

Tony Rautava
PenderFund Capital Management Ltd.
(604) 653-9625
Toll Free: (866) 377-4743

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 release.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release may contain forward-looking statements (within the meaning of applicable securities laws) relating to the business of the Company and the environment in which it operates. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as “believe”, “anticipate”, “project”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”, “will”, “may”, “estimate” and other similar expressions. These statements are based on the Company’s expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections and include, without limitation, statements regarding the benefits of the WOF Transaction, the Company’s belief that its shares trade at a discount to their intrinsic value, investment and liquidation opportunities in the public markets, and future investment opportunities. The forward-looking statements in this news release are based on certain assumptions; they are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the risk that valuations of micro and small cap public companies will change, the general volatility of public markets as well as factors discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s annual information form and MD&A available at www.sedar.com. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate as actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. Readers, therefore, should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Further, these forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, except as expressly required by applicable law, the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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Teleperformance Named One of the 10 Most Responsible Companies in France by Le Point Magazine and Statista

Teleperformance recognized for its sustained growth and commitment to building a better world

PARIS, November 26, 2021–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Regulatory News:

Teleperformance (Paris:TEP), a leading global group in digitally integrated business services, announced today that it has been ranked 10th among the most responsible companies in France and second on social performance in particular. The Group is also number one in its sector.

For this second annual ranking drawn up by Le Point magazine, the independent institute Statista analyzed 2,000 French companies with more than 500 employees and ranked France’s most responsible companies based on environment, social and governance criteria. The analysis was informed by a survey aimed at collecting 27 objective criteria per company and a survey of a sample of 5,000 people.

Teleperformance’s position in the ranking reflects its strong commitment to corporate social responsibility, especially its ongoing initiatives to foster employee well-being and its promotion of diversity and inclusion.

Treating every employee with respect has always been a top priority for the Group. Diversity, inclusion, equality, trust and camaraderie are core values at Teleperformance, which was recently recognized as one of the 25 World’s Best Workplaces in 2021 by Fortune magazine and Great Place to Work®, across all industries.

Teleperformance is committed to listening to its employees on an ongoing basis, whether through satisfaction surveys, actively encouraged open dialogue with management, or continuous dialogue with representative bodies. The Group aims to develop best human resources practices in every market where it operates.

Teleperformance is particularly committed to diversity, equality and inclusion in all its forms. In terms of gender equality, the Group has set ambitious targets and achieved very good results, with a workplace gender equality index of 99/100. It has also developed inclusion programs for many years. In 2020, for example, it had 70,000 employees from minority or disadvantaged groups, and provided a start in the working world to 85,000 people worldwide.

“The outcome of the Statista assessment, which placed Teleperformance among the most responsible companies in France, reflects the culture of integration, diversity and environmental stewardship that drives us. It also confirms the rankings published in October, listing Teleperformance as one of the 25 World’s Best Workplaces by Fortune magazine and the Great Place to Work® Institute. Contributing more with every success gives meaning to our actions”, said Daniel Julien, Teleperformance Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

ABOUT TELEPERFORMANCE GROUP

Teleperformance (TEP – ISIN: FR0000051807 – Reuters: TEPRF.PA – Bloomberg: TEP FP), a leading global group in digitally integrated business services, serves as a strategic partner to the world’s largest companies in many industries. It offers a One Office support services model combining three wide, high-value solution families: customer experience management, back-office services and business process knowledge services. These end-to-end digital solutions guarantee successful customer interaction and optimized business processes, anchored in a unique, comprehensive high tech, high touch approach. The Group’s 380,000+ employees, based in 83 countries, support billions of connections every year in over 265 languages and over 170 markets, in a shared commitment to excellence as part of the “Simpler, Faster, Safer” process. This mission is supported by the use of reliable, flexible, intelligent technological solutions and compliance with the industry’s highest security and quality standards, based on Corporate Social Responsibility excellence. In 2020, Teleperformance reported consolidated revenue of €5,732 million (US$6.5 billion, based on €1 = $1.14) and net profit of €324 million.

Teleperformance shares are traded on the Euronext Paris market, Compartment A, and are eligible for the deferred settlement service. They are included in the following indices: CAC 40, CAC Support Services, STOXX 600, S&P Europe 350 and MSCI Global Standard. In the area of corporate social responsibility, Teleperformance shares are included in the Euronext Vigeo Eurozone 120 index, the FTSE4Good index and the Solactive Europe Corporate Social Responsibility index (formerly Ethibel Sustainability Excellence Europe index).

For more information: www.teleperformance.com Follow us on Twitter: @teleperformance

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211126005325/en/

Contacts

FINANCIAL ANALYSTS AND INVESTORS
Investor relations and financial
communication department
TELEPERFORMANCE
Tel: +33 1 53 83 59 15
investor@teleperformance.com

PRESS RELATIONS
Europe
Laurent Poinsot – Karine Allouis
IMAGE7
Tel: +33 1 53 70 74 70
teleperformance@image7.fr

PRESS RELATIONS
Americas and Asia-Pacific
Mark Pfeiffer
TELEPERFORMANCE
Tel: + 1 801-257-5811
mark.pfeiffer@teleperformance.com