Rivalry Announces $14 Million Investment to Accelerate Growth

TORONTO, Nov. 15, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rivalry Corp. (the “Company” or “Rivalry”) (TSXV: RVLY) (OTCQX: RVLCF) (FSE: 9VK), the leading sportsbook and iGaming operator for Millennials and Gen Z, today announced a non-brokered private placement offering of convertible debentures ("Convertible Debentures"), and the closing of the first tranche of such offering for aggregate gross proceeds of $14,000,000. The investment comprising this initial closing came from an existing institutional shareholder. All dollar figures are quoted in Canadian dollars.

Under the Offering, each Convertible Debenture will consist of $1,000 principal amount of 10% senior secured convertible debentures of the Company, maturing on November 14, 2027 (the "Maturity Date"). The outstanding principal under the Convertible Debentures will be convertible at the option of the holder, at any time prior to the close of business on the last business day immediately preceding the Maturity Date, into subordinate voting shares in the capital of the Company ("Subordinate Voting Shares") at the conversion price of $1.40 per Subordinate Voting Share (the "Conversion Price").

“We are very pleased to receive the support of a long-standing institutional shareholder of Rivalry with this investment,” said Steven Salz, Co-founder and CEO, Rivalry. “Rivalry’s unique product mix and position in the marketplace has brought the business to the inflection point it’s reached today. We're deeply confident in the underlying trends the business is showing and maintain our expectation to achieve profitability in H1 2024.”

“Strengthening our balance sheet positions the company to maximize the opportunity in front of us. The capital will enable Rivalry to accelerate the development and release of new products, expand marketing efforts, and extend into new geographies and verticals, setting us on a path where we can pursue growth and profitability at the same time,” Salz added.

Terms of the Offering
The Convertible Debentures will bear interest from the date of issue at 10.0% per annum, and will be payable in cash quarterly in arrears on March 30, June 30 September 30 and December 30 of each year (each, an “Interest Payment Date”) commencing December 31, 2025 and will consist of interest accrued from and including the date of issue to the initial Interest Payment Date. Additional tranches of the non-brokered private placement offering may close for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $27,500,000 (inclusive of the initial closing) (the "Offering").

The Convertible Debentures will be senior secured obligations of the Company, subject to certain exceptions, and will be secured by all of the assets and property of the Company, subject to certain permitted encumbrances, pursuant to a general security agreement, and guaranteed by the Company’s wholly-owned material subsidiaries, and such guarantee shall be secured by a security agreement executed by such subsidiaries granting a first priority security interest on all of their present and after acquired personal property.

The net proceeds received by the Company are expected to be used to fund general working capital and corporate purposes.

The Convertible Debentures shall be offered and sold (i) to investors in Canada on a private placement basis; (ii) to institutional accredited investors in the United States pursuant to available private placement exemptions; (iii) to investors residing in jurisdictions outside of Canada and the United States, in each case in accordance with all applicable laws; provided that no prospectus, registration statement or similar document is required to be filed in such foreign jurisdiction.

All securities issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a hold period of four months plus a day from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities legislation.

The securities issuable in connection with the Offering have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any U.S. state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an available exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of the securities referenced in this press release, in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

About Rivalry
Rivalry Corp. wholly owns and operates Rivalry Limited, a leading sport betting and media company offering fully regulated online wagering on esports, traditional sports, and casino for the next generation of fans. Based in Toronto, Rivalry operates a global team in more than 20 countries and growing. Rivalry Limited has held an Isle of Man license since 2018, considered one of the premier online gambling jurisdictions. Rivalry also holds a sports bookmaker license in Australia and an internet gaming registration in Ontario, and is currently in the process of obtaining additional country licenses. Rivalry’s sportsbook is built on a proprietary tech stack and features a variety of originally developed products geared for Millennial and Gen Z fans including Same Game Combos, an esports parlay product, original casino games, and an interactive casino platform, Casino.exe.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Company Contact:
Steven Salz, Co-founder & CEO
[email protected]
416-565-4713

Investor Contact:
Oakstrom Advisors
Jeff Codispodi
[email protected]

Media Contact:
Cody Luongo, PR & Communications
[email protected]
203-947-1936

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements
This news release contains certain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws (“forward-looking statements”). All statements other than statements of present or historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as “anticipate”, “achieve”, “could”, “believe”, “plan”, “intend”, “objective”, “continuous”, “ongoing”, “estimate”, “outlook”, “expect”, “project” and similar words, including negatives thereof, suggesting future outcomes or that certain events or conditions “may” or “will” occur. These statements are only predictions.

Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management of the Company at the date the statements are made based on information then available to the Company. Various factors and assumptions are applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to and involve a number of known and unknown, variables, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, which may cause the Company’s actual performance and results to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include regulatory or political change such as changes in applicable laws and regulations; the ability to obtain and maintain required licenses; the esports and sports betting industry being a heavily regulated industry; the complex and evolving regulatory environment for the online gaming and online gambling industry; the success of esports and other betting products are not guaranteed; changes in public perception of the esports and online gambling industry; failure to retain or add customers; the Company having a limited operating history; negative cash flow from operations; operational risks; cybersecurity risks; reliance on management; reliance on third parties and third-party networks; exchange rate risks; risks related to cryptocurrency transactions; risk of intellectual property infringement or invalid claims; the effect of capital market conditions and other factors on capital availability; competition, including from more established or better financed competitors; and general economic, market and business conditions. For additional risks, please see the Company’s annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2022 and other disclosure documents available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

No assurance can be given that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

Financial Outlook
This news release contains a financial outlook within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. The financial outlook has been prepared by management of the Company to provide an outlook for the Company’s ability to generate sustainable net income prior to June 30, 2024 and may not be appropriate for any other purpose. The financial outlook has been prepared based on a number of assumptions including the assumptions discussed under the heading “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements”. The actual results of the Company’s operations for any period will likely vary from the amounts set forth in these projections and such variations may be material. The Company and its management believe that the financial outlook has been prepared on a reasonable basis. However, because this information is highly subjective and subject to numerous risks, including the risks discussed under the heading "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements", it should not be relied on as necessarily indicative of future results.

NOT FOR RELEASE OR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISSEMINATION TO U.S. NEWS WIRE SERVICES.

Source: Rivalry Corp.