DigitalTown Announces Acquisition of Congo Ltd. Assets
October 11 2017 - 5:42AM
DigitalTown, Inc. (OTC PINK:DGTW) and Congo, Ltd., have entered
into an agreement for DigitalTown to acquire technology, expertise,
and other assets of Congo. Congo’s flagship product is
JustLegal.com, an online service for legal service provider
discovery. The combined capability powers a global platform for
connecting people with service providers online, such as lawyers,
accountants, and doctors, through geo-targeted web and mobile
portals for transacting in real-time.
A PDF accompanying this announcement is available
at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/31c78788-f2ba-415a-8aa2-42bac8bd0e2e
DigitalTown is transforming how the citizens of the world
discover and consume local goods and services. From restaurants in
Miami to hotels in London, DigitalTown’s platform connects buyers
and sellers seamlessly online via web and mobile devices. The Congo
acquisition expands DigitalTown’s footprint in the legal industry,
making it easy for citizens to find the right attorney, schedule a
free initial consultation, and choose to connect in person or
online through secure video chat. The same technology is designed
to work across other service categories where one to one live
consults are desirable, including the ability to do on-demand video
consults and the ability to pay by the minute through the
DigitalTown SmartWallet or other payment methods.
Rob Monster, CEO of DigitalTown, explained the logic of the
deal: “The Congo team has built a robust platform for managing
online services procurement. Service platforms
like Angie's List, Houzz, Porch, ServiceMaster and
Thumbtack attempt to lump all service provider discovery in one
bucket. Niche platforms like Avvo and ZocDoc cater to
specific niches. DigitalTown is using the new web extensions such
as .LAW, .SHOP,.CITY and more to put the consumer at the center of
the experience in a way that is intuitive, personalized, real-time
and secure through an integrated network of digital portals that
cater to specific geo-targeted verticals and which can be operated
in cooperation with local partners.”
Concurrent with the acquisition, DigitalTown, a leading provider
of smart city portal solutions, announced the hiring of Congo’s
CTO, Frank R. Robles. Mr. Robles, a prolific technology executive
with a history of tackling large and complex projects, joins as
President of the newly-established Service Provider Business
Division and VP of Global Operations for DigitalTown.
The hiring of Mr. Robles and the acquisition of certain assets
from Congo Ltd. will be leveraged to help accelerate DigitalTown’s
online service provider business. Initially with the legal vertical
leveraging DigitalTown’s 1,668 City.LAW domain names (e.g.
Austin.Law) and then moving on to other verticals such as
accounting, medical and other professional services as well as
other service categories where live consults are standard
practice.
“I am excited to join the DigitalTown team and to build upon the
work we have done to date, using technology to reinvent how
consumers procure services in the Digital Age,” said Frank R.
Robles. “Given the great foundation DigitalTown has created, the
opportunity looks enormous.”
Founded in 2013, Congo’s innovative and award-winning platform
has changed the way people and lawyers connect online. Consistently
recognized as one of the top legal technology companies in the
world, Congo has pioneered the adoption of cloud technologies such
as intake, scheduling, and videoconferencing in the legal industry,
in addition to being the first website to seamlessly integrate
these features into an online marketplace for legal services.
“With their robust platform and global domain network,
DigitalTown is leading the proliferation of smart cities around the
world,” said Congo’s Founder and CEO, Willy Ogorzaly. “Our team
believes strongly in the DigitalTown vision, and we see this
opportunity as furthering the mission of increasing direct access
to reputable service providers.”
The asset purchase transaction is expected to close on or before
December 5, 2017 with integration of operations already in
progress.
About DigitalTownDigitalTown, Inc. (DGTW)
powers Smart Cities to succeed in the Digital Age. The company
provides turn-key hosted solutions to power "Digital Towns", which
improve Quality of Life for residents and visitors through
integrated solutions for economic development, civic engagement and
digital inclusion for cities around the world. For more information
about the company, please visit www.digitaltown.com.
Safe Harbor Language: Any statements contained herein related to
future events are forward-looking statements and are made pursuant
to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act 1995. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance
on forward-looking statements. DigitalTown, Inc. undertakes no
obligation to update any such statements to reflect actual
events.
Media
Contact:
Rob Monster, Chief Executive Officer
DigitalTown, Inc.(425) 295-4564; rob@digitaltown.com
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