Genius Brands International, Inc. (GNUS: NASDAQ) (“
Genius
Brands”), together with Wow Unlimited Media Inc.
(TSXV: WOW) (“
WOW!”), announces today
completion of the acquisition (the “
Transaction”)
of WOW! by Genius Brands through Wow Exchange Co. Inc. (the
“
Purchaser”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Genius
Brands. The Transaction was completed pursuant to a plan of
arrangement under Division 5 of Part 9 of the Business Corporations
Act (British Columbia), for total consideration comprised of
10,365,823 shares of Genius Brands common stock (the
“
Genius Shares”), 691,262 exchangeable shares in
the capital of the Purchaser (the “
Exchangeable
Shares”
) and C$47,696,640 in cash.
Early Warning Reporting
Immediately prior to the effective date of the
Transaction, neither Genius Brands nor the Purchaser held any
common shares (“Common Shares”), variable voting
shares (“Variable Voting Shares”) or non-voting
shares (“Non-Voting Shares”, and together with the
Common Shares and Variable Voting Shares, “WOW!
Shares”) in the capital of WOW!. Under the terms of the
Transaction, the Purchaser acquired each of the issued and
outstanding WOW! Shares, for C$1.169 (less applicable withholdings)
and either 0.271 of a Genius Share or, if validly elected, 0.271 of
an Exchangeable Share. The aggregate consideration delivered
pursuant to the Transaction for WOW! Shares was C$47,696,640,
10,365,823 Genius Shares and 691,262 Exchangeable Shares. Each
whole Exchangeable Share is exchangeable for one whole Genius
Share, subject to adjustment, in accordance with the terms thereof.
An early warning report will be filed on the System for Electronic
Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com under
WOW!’s profile. In order to obtain a copy of the early warning
report, please contact Genius Brands’ Corporate Secretary c/o
ir@gnusbrands.com.
The Common Shares and the Variable Voting Shares
will be delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange
(“TSXV”) and WOW! intends to apply to cease to be
a reporting issuer in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and
Quebec. The TSXV will disseminate a notice announcing the delisting
of the Common Shares and the Variable Voting Shares in due
course.
Former registered holders of WOW! Shares or 9.5%
unsecured subordinated convertible debentures of WOW! should send
their completed and executed letters of transmittal and related
share or debenture certificates, if any, to the depository for the
Transaction, Computershare Investor Services Inc., as soon as
possible in order to receive the consideration to which they are
entitled under the Transaction. Shareholders whose WOW! Shares are
registered in the name of a broker, dealer, bank, trust company or
other nominee must contact their nominee in order to confirm what
steps, if any, they need to take to receive their
consideration.
Following the closing of the Transaction, the
Purchaser will be exempt from the requirement to file financial
statements pursuant to Section 13.3 of National Instrument 51-102 –
Continuous Disclosure Obligations (“NI 51-102”),
and will satisfy its continuous disclosure obligations under NI
51-102 by relying on the continuous disclosure documents filed by
Genius Brands. Genius Brands will file annual financial statements
for the year ending December 31, 2021 and all applicable interim
financial statements that are required as a result of having a
December 31 year end.
Pursuant to National Instrument 71-102 –
Continuous Disclosure and Other Exemptions Relating to Foreign
Issuers, Genius Brands will generally be exempt from Canadian
statutory financial and other continuous and timely reporting
requirements, provided that Genius Brands complies with the
requirements of U.S. securities laws and U.S. market requirements
in respect of all financial and other continuous and timely
reporting matters and files with the relevant provincial and
territorial securities regulatory authorities copies of its
documents filed with or furnished to the United States Securities
and Exchange Commission under the United States Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, as amended.
The amount specified in respect of each
Exchangeable Share for the purposes of subsection 191(4) of the
Income Tax Act (Canada) shall be C$1.245.
Further information regarding the Transaction is
set forth in the materials filed under WOW!'s profile on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com.
About Genius Brands International,
Inc.
Genius Brands is a leading global kids media
company developing, producing, marketing and licensing branded
children’s entertainment properties and consumer products for media
and retail distribution. Genius Brands’ ‘content with a purpose’
portfolio includes Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, starring
Arnold Schwarzenegger, on Kartoon Channel!; KC Pop Quiz, starring
Casey Simpson, Kartoon Channel’s newest offering; Shaq’s
Garage, starring Shaquille O’Neal, coming to Kartoon Channel! in
2022; Rainbow Rangers on Kartoon Channel! and
Netflix; Llama Llama, starring Jennifer Garner, on Netflix;
award-winning toddler brand Baby Genius; adventure comedy STEM
series Thomas Edison's Secret Lab; and entrepreneurship
series Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club. Through
licensing agreements with leading partners, characters from Genius
Brands’ IP also appear on a wide range of consumer products for the
worldwide retail marketplace. Genius Brands’ new Kartoon Channel!,
Kartoon Classroom! and ¡KC! En Español, are available in over 100
million U.S. television households via a broad range of
distribution platforms, including Comcast, Cox, DISH, Pluto TV,
Sling TV, Amazon Prime, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Apple i0s, Android
TV, Android Mobil, Google Play, Xumo, Roku, Tubi,
KartoonChannel.com, Samsung Smart TVs and LG TVs. The head office
of Genius Brands is located at 1990 N. Canon Drive, 4th Floor,
Beverly Hills, California, 90210. The head office of the Purchaser
is located at 510 West Georgia Street, Suite 1800, Vancouver,
British Columbia, V6B 0M3.
About WOW! Unlimited Media
Inc.
WOW! is a leading animation-focused
entertainment company producing top-end content and building brands
and audiences on the most engaging media platforms. WOW! produces
animation in its two established studios: Frederator Studios in the
USA, which has a 20-year track record; and one of Canada’s largest,
multi-faceted animation production studios, Mainframe Studios,
which has a 25-year track record. WOW! also operates Channel
Frederator Network on YouTube. The common voting shares of WOW! and
variable voting shares of WOW! are listed on the TSXV (TSXV: WOW)
and the OTCQX Best Market (OTCQX: WOWMF). Further information about
WOW! is available at www.wowunlimited.co.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws.
These statements can be identified by the use of
forward-looking terminology such as “expects,” “believes,”
“estimates,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “goal,” “seeks,”
“may,” “will,” “should,” or “anticipates” or the negative or other
variations of these or similar words, or by discussions of future
events, strategies or risks and uncertainties. Specifically,
forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
statements regarding the expected delisting of the Common Shares
and the Variable Voting Shares from the TSXV, the method and timing
to receive the consideration under the Transaction and the filing
of financial reports and other continuous disclosure materials.
Such statements are all subject to risks, uncertainties and changes
in circumstances that could significantly affect Genius Brands’
future financial results and business. Accordingly, Genius Brands
cautions that the forward-looking statements contained herein are
qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by
such statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to,
general economic conditions, risk factors discussed in the Genius
Brands’ Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2021, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports
on Form 8-K, each as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission, and risk factors discussed in WOW!’s Annual Information
Form as filed with applicable securities regulatory authorities in
Canada and as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission, and elsewhere in documents that WOW! files from time to
time with such securities regulatory authorities in Canada and with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its
Management’s Discussion & Analysis and Management Information
Circular. Neither Genius Brands nor WOW! intends to update publicly
any forward-looking statements except as required by law. In light
of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking
events discussed in this press release may not occur.
Investor Relations Contact:
ir@gnusbrands.com
Bill Mitoulas 416-479-9547
billm@wowunlimited.co
Media Contact:
pr@gnusbbrands.com
Colleen Kirk, Kirk Group Media 310-251-0030
colleen@kirkgroupmedia.com
The TSXV has neither approved nor disapproved the
contents of this press release. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation
Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the
TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
press release.
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