Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief
Creative Realities, Inc. (“CRI”,NASDAQ: CREX, CREXW) and Reflect Systems, Inc. (Reflect) announced late on Friday that the companies have executed a definitive merger agreement.
Creative Realities, Inc. CEO Rick Mills (second right) on stage at TDIC back in 2019
Under the terms of the agreement, the combined company will operate under the Creative Realities, Inc. name and continue to be listed on NASDAQ as CREX.
Rick Mills, CRI’s CEO, who will continue to act as CEO for the combined company told us “This really is an ideal combination. CRI has a strong history of deploying large-scale and sophisticated digital signage projects, driven by our exceptional creative and project management teams. Reflect has world-class content management software platforms like ReflectView, which has become an industry standard for scalable, flexible, reliable digital signage. Reflect’s AdTech platform, AdLogic, is a game-changing solution for Digital-Out-Of-Home advertisers, and is currently used by publishers to deliver approximately 1 billion ads per month. Combined, we offer some of the most comprehensive digital signage and media solutions available in a powerful one-stop shop for customers.”
Whilst not described as such, this is undoubtedly CRI acquiring Dallas based Reflect Systems and is yet another sign of the much needed industry consolidation in the digital signage industry. Interestingly for those with more of an interest in DOOH, Reflect Systems have some interesting media owner customers and have made some inroads into the #AdTECH space with their AdLogic offering.
We note that Reflect CEO Lee Summers will remain with the company and lead the (combined) company’s #AdTECH initiatives. He told us “Not only do CRI and Reflect have complementary offerings, but we have also traditionally been strong in complementary markets. While CRI has excelled in Quick Service Restaurants, stadiums and C-store markets, Reflect has become an industry leader in retail, healthcare, banking, Digital-Out-of-Home and corporate communications. Together we can address virtually any digital signage need for any sector.”
Post-merger, the company will have one of the broadest offerings in digital signage, including:
- Purpose-built menu board software via the CRI Clarity platform
- Digital signage Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) via ReflectView and Reflect Xperience
- Digital-Out-Of-Home advertising solution with the AdLogic platform
- Engineering design and planning
- Installation services
- Creative planning and design
- IPTV streaming platforms
- Post-deployment support
The companies expect the merger to close in the first quarter of 2022. Reflect was advised in the transaction by Innovation Advisors, a technology-focused investment bank.
It’s probably important to stress that Unlike other acquisition/merger strategies in digital signage (we all know who they are) CRI fully intends to integrate the two companies. Rick Mills stressed to us “With our track record of successful combinations, the company is well positioned for continued organic and strategic growth. By fully integrating our solutions and business operations, we can bring to the market the most competitive product and service offerings available for the digital signage market”.
Going forward the company will be headquartered in Louisville, while maintaining the Reflect offices in Dallas.
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