2 Jun 2016 15:23
2 June 2016
FastForward Innovations Limited
("FastForward" or the "Company")
Completion of second stage investment in Leap Gaming
Further to its announcement dated 11 April 2016 FastForward Innovations Limited is pleased to announce it has now completed the second stage of its investment in Frails LLC, the sole owner of a subsidiary providing and developing gaming products and technology with a focus on Virtual Sports and Virtual Casino products, trading under the brand "Leap Gaming" ("Leap Gaming"). Following its initial acquisition of 693 Preferred Units of Leap Gaming in April 2016, the Company has now acquired a further 277 Ordinary Units, bringing its total ownership interest to 41.15 per cent.
In April 2016, the Company subscribed for 693 Preferred Units of Leap Gaming equal to 29.4 per cent interest (fully diluted units) for total cash consideration of US$2,500,000. At such time, the Company agreed to acquire a further 277 Ordinary Units for US$1 million (the "Secondary Closing") from an existing Unit Holder to be satisfied by the issue of 1,181,022 new ordinary shares (the "Consideration Shares") of 1p each in the Company ("Ordinary Share") equal to US$250,000 (each issued at an implied price of 15 pence per Ordinary Share at the agreed exchange rate of 0.708613 GBP per 1.00 USD as of 8 April 2016) with the balance (US$750,000) paid in cash. FastForward is pleased to announce that the Secondary Closing is now complete, bringing the Company's ownership interest in Leap Gaming to 41.15 per cent. (fully diluted units) for total consideration of US$3,500,000. With the completion of the Secondary Closing, FastForward now has the right to appoint two managers to the Board of Leap Gaming.
FastForward CEO, Lorne Abony, commented "I am delighted with the completion of FastForward's investment in Leap Gaming, the largest ownership stake we have taken in a portfolio company to date. We are excited with what we are already seeing Leap Gaming accomplish since our initial investment, as well as to assist in the continued growth of Leap Gaming's business."
"Norbert Teufelberger, Special Adviser to FastForward, added "Leap Gaming's technology is transformational in the gaming and leisure space, not only is it a game changer on digital channels; like mobile and web, but the opportunity to further break into land-based markets is now bigger then ever, I'm excited to be working with team to help make their vision a reality."
About Leap Gaming
Leap Gaming is a developer and provider of 3D gaming technology and products with a focus on Virtual Sports and virtual casino. Leap Gaming partners with top-tier online and land-based gaming companies to provide advanced gaming products for end-users.
Leap Gaming and its partners have already signed deals with a substantial and growing number of leading gaming operators as well as with established other providers who offer products and services complementary to Leap Gaming's.
Leap Gaming intends to use the funds from FastForward's April 2016 investment to significantly enhance its product portfolio, increasing the number of Virtual Sports titles and adding new features, like in-game betting.
In addition, Leap Gaming is working to bolster its development capabilities significantly in the current year, with an aim to double its headcount at its R&D center in Israel. Leap Gaming intends to add sales & marketing staff, to accelerate its reach into land-based gaming operators globally.
Leap Gaming also plans to further grow its cross-platform integrations, enabling its games to be played across all platforms via HTML5. Leap Gaming's product-lines can be accessed digitally as well as physically.
For further information regarding Leap Gaming, please visit its website at www.leap-gaming.com.
Admission of the Consideration Shares to AIM
The Consideration Shares (which will rank pari passu with the existing Ordinary Shares) have been issued and allotted and admission to trading on AIM is expected to commence at 8.00 a.m. on 8 June May 2016.
Following the issue of the 1,181,022 Ordinary Shares, the enlarged issued share capital of the Company will be 136,144,498 Ordinary Shares, of which 3,158,623 Ordinary Shares are held in Treasury. Therefore, 132,985,875 Ordinary Shares with voting rights should be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.
For further information please visit www.fstfwd.co or contact:
FastForward Innovations Limited info@fstfwd.co
Josh Epstein / Ian Burns
Peel Hunt LLP +44 (0)20 7418 8900
Dan Webster / Adrian Trimmings / George Sellar