Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief
Creative Realities, LLC and Wireless Ronin Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: RNIN) announced Thursday that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement.
Upon closing of the proposed transaction, the two companies will be combined into a publicly traded company focused on providing its blue-chip client base with innovative marketing technology solutions that improve the shopping experience for retailers, venue operators and the respective brands they partner with.
Under the terms of the agreement, Creative Realities will merge into a subsidiary of Wireless Ronin, with the sole equity holder of Creative Realities (which is an affiliate of Pegasus Capital Advisors, L.P.), receiving approximately 58.5% of the outstanding shares of Wireless Ronin common stock, calculated on a modified fully-diluted basis, including the shares of common stock to be issued in connection with Wireless Ronin’s pending merger with Broadcast International Inc. and warrants to acquire an additional 1.5% of Wireless Ronin’s common stock.
The board of directors of both companies has approved the merger. Paul Price, currently Chief Executive Officer of Creative Realities, will assume the role of CEO of the combined company and Scott Koller, currently CEO of Wireless Ronin, will become President.
Upon consummation of the merger, the board of directors of the combined company will have five members, with three members designated by Creative Realities and two members designated by Wireless Ronin.
Paul Price told us “This is a very exciting time for our company and an incredible opportunity for our customers and partners. Over the past decade, we have focused on differentiating ourselves by providing our customers with a single-source solution for improving the shopping experience through marketing technologies. As a result, we have significantly expanded our customer base and today, represent many of the world’s most recognized retailers, venues and brands.”
“The union of Creative Realities and Wireless Ronin will further strengthen our technology platform and together, we will be more equipped to help our customers drive the in-store engagement, with the end goal being, increased sales. Furthermore, we believe that by combining our resources, we will be the only company capable of helping clients go from the planning and design phase to deployment and ongoing maintenance of the marketing technology experience, all sourced from under one roof.”
Scott W. Koller, President and CEO of Wireless Ronin stated, “This merger brings together two industry leaders with highly complementary technology, talent and customers. Our creative services team, coupled with our content management platform, has helped many of the largest marketers maximize their top- and bottom-lines. When I look at the synergies between our offerings and those from Creative Realities, I am excited with the powerful combination. We are both focused on improving the shopping experience through various marketing technologies and this merger holds great opportunities for continued growth with our customers, while at the same time, providing them with a complete suite of services from a single source.”
Alec Machiels, Partner with Pegasus said “Creative Realities has been one of our fastest growing portfolio companies in recent years, led by experienced management who share a unique vision of the future of marketing technologies. Under Paul’s leadership, they have expanded into new geographies and markets, leveraging technology to help the world’s largest retailers and brands. This merger makes strategic sense, as both companies have similar market approaches, but differentiated technologies and skills. We see opportunities to capture immediate revenue streams and also realize incremental cost savings due to synergies within their respective businesses. With the rapidly expanding rise of mobile devices and other technologies, it is increasingly important for marketers to have one partner that can help drive engaged customer experiences across all channels and platforms. We believe the combination of these two businesses will make this vision a reality.”
Consummation of the proposed merger is subject to various conditions, including the completion of Wireless Ronin’s currently pending merger with Broadcast. Subject to the satisfaction of such conditions, the merger is expected to be consummated in July 2014. There can be no assurance that the conditions to the merger will be satisfied or that the merger will be completed.
Follow DailyDOOH