GoLogiq Plans to Acquire Swedish Fintech Company, Fram Venture 7, and its Vietnamese SME-Lending Platform, DragonLend
NEW YORK and STOCKHOLM, Sweden and HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, Aug. 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — GoLogiq, Inc. (OTC:GOLQ), a U.S.-based global provider of fintech and consumer data analytics, has signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire all of Fram Venture 7 AB, a Swedish fintech corporation, for US$6 million in an all-stock transaction. Total consideration could increase to US$20 million depending upon the achievement of certain earn-out targets.
The acquisition includes all of Fram Venture 7’s equity interest in its wholly-owned subsidiary, DragonLend, a lending platform for profitable small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in Vietnam. The acquisition is expected to complement GoLogiq’s existing fintech ecosystem, which encompasses a range of financial services, from payroll services to retirement investing.
DragonLend provides short-term (three to six months) working capital finance solutions to profitable Vietnamese SMEs. Although SMEs are critical to Vietnam’s economy, generating 40% of gross domestic product (GDP) and 50% of jobs, they are having challenges accessing finance, with approximately 62% of total SME financing needs unmet, according to a press release from IFC. IFC estimates Vietnam’s financing gap for SMEs is approximately US$21.7 billion.
DragonLend is addressing this opportunity by offering businesses fairer, faster and easier access to short-term working capital for fuelling their growth. Through the application of its proprietary risk model and working closely with its clients, DragonLend can issue finance solutions in a matter of days versus weeks or months as is typical of more traditional lending institutions. DragonLend’s vision is to become Vietnam’s most trusted and reliable working capital provider for profitable SMEs.
DragonLend was founded in 2019 and issued its first loan in 2020. Despite substantial Covid-19 restrictions and a challenging business climate, DragonLend has disbursed close to US$9 million since 2020, and plans to serve thousands of SMEs countrywide in the coming years with flexible product offerings and best-in-breed client service. DragonLend clients are primarily engaged in various supply chain verticals, such as manufacturing, wholesale and distribution.
The team behind DragonLend are experienced builders of companies in frontier markets. They are from the Swedish-Vietnamese investment group Fram Skandinavien (NASDAQ First North: FRAM B). This includes Fram Venture 7’s chairman, Christopher Beselin, who founded and previously served as CEO of Lazada Vietnam. Lazada Group was sold to Alibaba for US$3.5 billion.
“We believe market conditions are perfect for DragonLend to rapidly scale its SME lending platform in Vietnam, especially given how the country’s small business sector has been experiencing strong economic growth,” stated DragonLend CEO, Max Bergman. “We now have assembled years of valuable data for our credit scoring model, which can rely on for driving profitable growth.”
GoLogiq CEO, Granger Whitelaw, commented: “The acquisition of DragonLend would further our expansion into Vietnam with a proven business lending service that is highly complementary to our fintech ecosystem. We see its scalable platform enabling us to expand into other emerging markets across Southeast Asia, such as Singapore and Thailand.”
According to the World Bank, an estimated 65 million or 40% of MSMEs in developing countries have an unmet financing need of US$5.2 trillion annually, which is equivalent to 1.4 times the current level of global MSME lending.
Additional Proposed Transaction Details
Under the terms of the letter of intent, GoLogiq will acquire 100% of Fram Venture 7 and secure employment agreements with management. The company anticipates closing the transaction in September.
While GoLogiq expects the transaction to be completed as anticipated, a definitive agreement has yet to be signed and no assurances can be given it will be executed or the transaction will be completed as described. When such a definitive agreement would be mutually signed, the details would be made available in a Form 8-K to be filed with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on www.sec.gov as well as on the investor section of GoLogiq’s website.
GoLogiq’s recently announced a sale of its fintech assets to Recruiter.com Group (NASDAQ:RCRT) (NASDAQ:RCRTW) (“Recruiter”), a recruiting solutions provider. If such sale is consummated prior to the closing date of GoLogiq’s acquisition of Fram Venture 7, GoLogiq intends to assign its rights in its purchase agreement to Recruiter, whereupon Fram Venture 7 would become a subsidiary of Recruiter.
About DragonLend
DragonLend, a subsidiary of Fram Venture 7, is a financial lending platform that supports Vietnamese SMEs with working capital solutions to fuel their growth. Fram Venture 7 and DragonLend were founded by a group of entrepreneurs from Fram Skandinavien AB (NASDAQ First North: FRAM B), a publicly traded investment group. To learn more about DragonLend, go to www.dragonlend.vn.
About GoLogiq
GoLogiq Inc. is a U.S.-based global provider of fintech and mobile solutions for digital transformation and consumer data analytics. Its software platforms are comprised of CreateApp, a mobile app development and publishing platform for small-to-medium sized businesses; AtozGo™, a ‘hyper-local’ app-based delivery platform; AtozPay™, an eWallet for mobile top-up, e-commerce purchases, bill payment and microfinance; and Radix™, a Big Data analytics platform. To learn more, go to gologiq.com or follow the company on twitter: $GOLQ and @gologiq.
Important Cautions Reading Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements and information, as defined within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is subject to the Safe Harbor created by those sections. This press release also contains forward‐looking statements and forward‐looking information within the meaning of United States securities legislation that relate to GoLogiq’s current expectations and views of future events. Any statements that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, through the use of words or phrases such as “will likely result”, “are expected to”, “expects”, “will continue”, “is anticipated”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimated”, “intends”, “plans”, “forecast”, “projection”, “strategy”, “objective” and “outlook”) are not historical facts and may be forward‐looking statements and may involve estimates, assumptions and uncertainties which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in such forward‐looking statements. No assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward‐looking statements included in this press release should not be unduly relied upon.
These statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Forward‐looking statements are based on a number of assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond GoLogiq’s control, which could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual future events to differ materially from the expected results, include, but are not limited to: (i) the risk that the merger between Recruiter.com and GoLogiq SPV (or similarly formed subsidiary to effectuate the transaction) (the “Merger”) may not be completed in a timely manner or at all, (ii) the failure to satisfy the conditions to the consummation of the transaction, including the adoption of the Agreement by the stockholders of Recruiter.com and GoLogiq, (iii) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the Agreement, (iv) the receipt of an unsolicited offer from another party for an alternative transaction that could interfere with the Merger, (v) the effect of the announcement or pendency of the transaction on GoLogiq’s business relationships, performance, and business generally, (vi) the inability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the Merger, which may be affected by, among other things, competition and the ability of the post-Merger company to grow and manage growth profitability and retain its key employees, (vii) costs related to the Merger, (viii) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Recruiter.com and GoLogiq following the announcement of the proposed merger, (ix) the ability to maintain the listing of Recruiter.com’s securities on Nasdaq, (x) the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations after the completion of the Merger, and identify and realize additional opportunities, (xi) the risk of downturns and the possibility of rapid change in the highly competitive industry in which GoLogiq operates, (xii) the risk that GoLogiq may not sustain profitability, (xiii) the risk that GoLogiq may need to raise additional capital to execute its business plan, which many not be available on acceptable terms or at all, (xiii) the risk that third-party suppliers and manufacturers are not able to fully and timely meet their obligations, (xiv) the risk of product liability or regulatory lawsuits or proceedings relating to the products and services of GoLogiq, (xv) the risk that GoLogiq is unable to secure or protect its intellectual property, and (xvi) the risk that the securities of the post-Merger company will not be approved for listing on Nasdaq or if approved, maintain the listing. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. In particular and without limitation, our products and services, the use and/or ongoing demand for our products and services, expectations regarding our revenue and the revenue generation potential of our products and services, our partnerships and strategic alliances, the impact of global pandemics (including COVID-19) on the demand for our products and services, industry trends, overall market growth rates, our growth strategies, the continued growth of the addressable markets for our products and solutions, our business plans and strategies, our ability to apply to and meet the listing standards and approvals for Nasdaq, NYSE, or other senior exchange, our global expansion efforts, our ability to successfully locate and consummate any contemplated strategic transactions or other acquisitions, our ability to successfully complete a merger or acquisition of Fram Venture 7 AB, the structure of any such transaction, timing of such transaction, and the valuation of the businesses after completion of any such transaction, if any, and other risks described in the Company’s prior press releases and in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) including its Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent public filings.
GoLogiq undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward‐looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for GoLogiq to predict all of them, or assess the impact of each such factor or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward‐looking statement. Any forward‐looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
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