FastForward Innovations Limited Investee Company Update: Factom Inc. (8454G)
20 March 2020 - 1:30AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMFFWD
RNS Number : 8454G
FastForward Innovations Limited
19 March 2020
FastForward Innovations Ltd / AIM: FFWD / Sector: Closed End
Investments
19 March 2020
FastForward Innovations Ltd
("FastForward", "FFWD" or the "Company")
Investee Company Update: Factom Inc.
FastForward Innovations Ltd, the AIM quoted company focusing on
making investments in fast growing and industry leading businesses,
hereby provides an update in respect of investee company, Factom
Inc.'s (" Factom") and its ongoing financing efforts. FFWD has an
equity interest in Factom valued at approximately $714,000 (GBP
581,105) as at the last balance sheet date (being 30 September
2019) and provided funding in the form of a SAFE, as further
detailed below, valued at par (being $6million, equivalent to
GBP4.880 million as at 30 September 2019).
Further to previous announcements regarding the renegotiation of
the Company's $6 million Simple Agreement for Future Equity
("SAFE") (see RNS of 30 July 2019) and further updates in the
published financial statements of FFWD (RNS's of 11 September 2019
and 11 December 2019), Factom has not yet secured further
funding.
It has become clear that the Company's SAFE is seen by investors
as an impediment to further investment in Factom, despite continued
interest being expressed by multiple parties in the event that this
barrier can be removed. In light of this the Company has made a
proposal to the board of Factom which would see the SAFE converted
into an alternative instrument which may not be perceived to be as
detrimental to the capital structure of Factom.
Factom remains actively involved in negotiations with two
industry parties but has notified shareholders that at the end of
March 2020, without any additional support or funding, Factom Inc.
will be forced to enter discussions with creditors about the
distribution of its assets. At this point, the SAFE becomes a debt
of $6 million and the Company will be the largest creditor. The
Company has held preliminary discussions with management regarding
a potential restructuring of Factom and its creditors, but any deal
requires fresh investment in Factom by existing and new investors.
The Company has indicated that as part of a syndicate it may
provide further funding to Factom but will not lead the fundraise
on its own.
In any scenario, based on the proposals FastForward is aware of,
it is highly likely that there will be a very significant
impairment to the value of the Company's investment in Factom. The
impact on the carrying value will depend on the result of
discussions as part of any fundraise. At the very least it is the
Directors' belief that any realization of the investment in its
entirety will be delayed for the foreseeable future.
The current global financial markets uncertainty caused by the
Covid-19 outbreak have severely compounded the difficulties in any
fundraise but FastForward remains committed to assisting the board
of Factom wherever it can or to otherwise take what action it
considers necessary to protect its position. Further updates will
be provided as the situation evolves over the coming weeks.
FastForward Director, Ed McDermott, said, "Factom has reached a
critical juncture in its fundraising efforts where it has become
clear that without action by FastForward to remove the impediment
to investment created by the continued presence of the SAFE note,
funding will not be forthcoming. These proposals are designed to
remove this barrier whilst enabling FastForward to continue to
benefit from the future development of Factom. It is disappointing
that this will result in a book loss for FastForward, but we
believe that this may, to a degree, have already been costed into
our share price which continues to trade at a significant discount
to net asset value and that this approach is necessary to retain
some value in our investment in Factom. We will make further
announcements as soon as practicable."
About Factom Inc.
Factom is an Austin-based blockchain technology company that
provides blockchain data provenance for complex industries. Factom
specialises in building scalable blockchain technology to handle
complex enterprise data and volume and is the recognised leader in
providing blockchain solutions to preserve, ensure and validate
digital assets. For information, please visit www.factom.com .
About FastForward Innovations Limited
FastForward innovations is an AIM quoted investment company
focused primarily on disruptive high growth life sciences and
technology businesses particularly within the medical cannabis
arena. The Company's strategy is to identify early stage
opportunities that have an upcoming investment catalyst and grow
its portfolio in terms of value whilst limiting the number of
investee companies to a level where relevant time can be devoted to
each.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 596/2014.
Cautionary Statement
The AIM Market of London Stock Exchange plc does not accept
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No
stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority
has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. All
statements, other than statements of historical fact, in this news
release are forward-looking statements that involve various risks
and uncertainties, including, without limitation, statements
regarding potential values, the future plans and objectives of
FastForward Innovations Ltd. There can be no assurance that such
statements will prove to be accurate, achievable or recognizable in
the near term.
Actual results and future events could differ materially from
those anticipated in such statements. These and all subsequent
written and oral forward-looking statements are based on the
estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and
are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice.
FastForward Innovations assumes no obligation to update
forward-looking statements should circumstances or management's
estimates or opinions change.
*** ENDS***
For further information on the Company please visit www.fstfwd.co or contact:
Ed McDermott / Lance FastForward Innovations Email: info@fstfwd.co
de Jersey Ltd
James Biddle / Roland Beaumont Cornish Limited, Tel: +44 (0) 207 628
Cornish Nomad 3396
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Graham Dickson Optiva Securities Tel: +44 (0) 203 411
Limited, 1881
Broker
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Isabel de Salis / Beth St Brides Partners Tel: +44 (0)207 236
Melluish Ltd, 1177
Financial PR
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This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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