TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Facedrive Inc. (“Facedrive”, or “Company”) (TSXV: FD), a Canadian “people-and-planet first” tech ecosystem, is excited to announce that the company has completed a sign-and-close definitive agreement (the “Agreement”) on August 7th, 2020 (the “Transaction”) to partner and invest in Tally Technology Group Inc. (“Tally,” https://www.playtally.com/), a white-label, free-to-play sports predictions platform founded by Superbowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson and Jason LeeKeenan.
Tally’s sports prediction platform was spun out of TraceMe, a celebrity social media company founded by Wilson and LeeKeenan in 2017, with investments from some of the world’s best-known tech leaders. In 2019, technology and IP related to the original TraceMe social media app was acquired by Nike, with Tally ultimately acquiring all technology and IP related to sports predictions in a separate transaction concurrent with Facedrive’s investment (with each of Facedrive and Tally being the “Parties”). That said, the Transaction did not result in a contractual relationship between Nike and the Company.
Transactional Objectives
A major objective for Facedrive and Tally is in the common synergies and alignment among the Parties created by the Transaction. As a result of the Transaction, Tally and its shareholders (including Russell Wilson, Jason LeeKeenan, Bradley Vettese, and the original TraceMe Corporation) have become beneficial shareholders of Facedrive, subject to a 12-month lock-up. Facedrive’s investment has been structured as a cash and a share-exchange transaction whereby Facedrive would invest $1 Million USD in cash and $2 Million USD in Facedrive common shares based on a 30-day VWAP valuation in exchange for a minority stake in Tally. Both Facedrive and Tally are confident that, while the Transaction does not represent a material one relative to the Company's market capitalization at this time, it will nonetheless commonly-incentivize both to work towards opening up both Facedrive’s ecosystem and Tally’s sports predictions platform to global sports markets.
Corporate Vision
The partnership signals even more commercial potential for both companies. With Facedrive CEO Sayan Navaratnam being added to Tally’s board, the two companies will help one another grow their network of potential business opportunities. The officers, directors and advisors of Tally, including Jason LeeKeenan and Russell Wilson, will also play a valuable role in helping grow Facedrive and Tally through the mutually-beneficial partnership.
With gamification and online fan engagement the clear future of the sports and entertainment industry, Tally has been chosen by teams in the NFL, NHL, and NBA as a premier tech solution for increasing audience engagement for live sporting events. The Tally technology platform presents a complete, state-of-the-art solution supporting the creation and delivery of partner-branded, free-to-play prediction games for sports fans all around the world.
The technology consists of a robust game authoring and validation tool, a mobile-first web app for fans, and a comprehensive analytics portal for partners. Built to be configurable, Tally’s modular system enables a wide range of game formats based on partner’s preferences, is easy to integrate with other apps and accessible from all types of devices. Furthermore, it features a wide variety of additional functions and built-in user monetization tools, such as leaderboard prizes, social shares, survey integration, exclusive sponsor shout-outs and giveaways to drive brand awareness, and many others.
Facedrive Vertical Development
The Transaction is part of Facedrive’s broader tech “ecosystem” strategy that establishes Facedrive as a lifestyle brand of choice for forward-thinking and socially-responsible digital age consumers.
“I am thrilled to have Tally partner with Facedrive. The intersection of sports and technology has always been a passion of mine, and this investment by Facedrive in Tally will help us expand globally, bringing our live event engagement platform to sports fans around the world,” said Tally Founder Russell Wilson.
The investment will further strengthen the synergies between Facedrive’s existing verticals, i.e. Facedrive Rideshare, Facedrive Foods, Facedrive Marketplace, Facedrive Health, and HiQ, and weave the increasingly critical gamification element into its user experience. The idea of the Parties is to effectively attract and retain the shrewd and discerning user base that today’s millennials represent.
As part of the agreement, Tally and Facedrive will work closely together on its Research and Development efforts and also provide support to each other in global expansion by providing introductions to various corporate partnership opportunities. The Transaction also helps Facedrive in its efforts to expand into the US and other parts of the world.
“We have been very selective in finding partners and investors. In Facedrive, we not only saw a partner we trusted and admired, but we also saw a holistic change-maker with a long-term strategy across an entire ecosystem. We are excited to have Facedrive as our first major investor, and believe that the synergies between these two platforms will propel their reach exponentially,” said Tally CEO Brad Vettese.
“We have had a long-term relationship with TraceMe, Tally and its founders and we are extremely excited and fortunate to be partners with a group who share our core values around ESG. Not only do we see a very tight strategic fit between our two businesses, but we also believe there is a momentum that needs to be leveraged wisely. With the demand for delivery services spiking to an all-time high these past months, our social app HiQ achieving over a million downloads within just five weeks of its release, and many other exciting developments currently taking place within Facedrive, we see a unique opportunity to amplify our impact and invite more people to our platform as we all evolve together through these unprecedented times,” said Sayan Navaratnam, CEO and Chairman of Facedrive.
About Facedrive
Facedrive is a multi-faceted “people-and-planet first” platform offering socially-responsible services to local communities with a strong commitment to doing business fairly, equitably and sustainably. Facedrive Rideshare was the first to offer green transportation solutions in the TaaS space, planting thousands of trees and giving users a choice between EVs, hybrids and conventional vehicles. Facedrive Marketplace offers curated merchandise created from sustainably sourced materials. Facedrive Foods offers contactless deliveries of a wide variety of foods with the focus on healthy foods right to consumers’ doorsteps. Facedrive Health develops innovative technological solutions to the most acute health challenges of the day. Facedrive is changing the ridesharing, food delivery, e-commerce and health tech narratives for the better, for everyone. For more about Facedrive, visit www.facedrive.com.
About Tally
Tally is a free-to-play sports prediction platform dedicated to powering immersive, real-time predictive experiences. Comprised of a robust game authoring and validation tool, a mobile-first app for fans, and a comprehensive analytics portal for partners, Tally is redefining in-venue and broadcast sports experiences by creating a deeper interaction between the teams and their fans.
For more about Tally, visit www.playtally.com.
Facedrive Inc.
100 Consilium Pl, Unit 400, Scarborough, ON, Canada M1H 3E3
www.facedrive.com
Forward-Looking Information
Certain information in this press release contains forward-looking information. This information is based on management’s reasonable assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to us and are made as of the date of this press release. Actual results and the timing of events, including those related to the Transaction, may differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information as a result of various factors. Information regarding our expectations of future results, performance, achievements, prospects or opportunities or the markets in which we operate is forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not facts but instead represent management’s expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events or circumstances. Many factors could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements or future events or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.
See “Forward-Looking Information” and “Risk Factors” in Facedrive’s Filing Statement dated August 28, 2019 for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with these statements. Readers are urged to consider the uncertainties, risks and assumptions carefully in evaluating the forward-looking information and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such information. We have no intention and undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities law.
Neither 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.
