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On Thursday October 8, BBTV Holdings (Broadband TV) filed its preliminary prospectus to list on the TSX via initial public offering (IPO). The company aims to raise $172.4 million through the issuance of subordinate voting shares and expects to price the shares at $14.00 and $22.50 per share. Depending on the offer price, it expects to issue between 12.3M and 7.6M shares. It has an enterprise value of $400million at the mid-range. 

The company expects to trade on the TSX under the symbol BBTV. In a complicated series of deal upon completion of the IPO, BBTV will acquire all outstanding securities of BroadbandTV corp will operate under said name. 

The company is led by founder Shahrzad Rafati, is recognized as one of the most successful female technology entrepreneurs in the country. BroadbandTV claims to be the second-largest online video purveyor in the world (behind Google). It sells aggregated content to advertisers which helps content creators reach their target audience. BBTV has strong partnerships and coordinates more than 400K videos each month. In total, it generated 596 million views over the top 12 countries.

Valuation is quite difficult. In 2019, BroadbandTV generated $374.4 million in revenue and it has achieved a CAGR of 63% over the past 5 years. Impressive growth rates. However, almost 90% of that total was paid out to creators. In the second quarter, growth slowed to 5% YOY - not surprising as global ad spending cratered during the pandemic - yet it still managed to grow. It is on pace to grow revenue by 25% in the third quarter. 

There will be a lot of fanfare around this IPO. Ms. Rafati is a well respected tech innovator and the potential for BBTV is exponential. We will have to wait for the final prospectus to give our opinion on pricing and valuation, but it is certainly one worth watching. 

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News Release

BBTV Files Prospectus for Initial Public Offering

/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES./

VANCOUVER, OCTOBER 8th, 2020 – BBTV Holdings Inc. (“BBTV Holdings”, “BBTV” or the “Company”) announced today that it has filed, and obtained a receipt for, its preliminary prospectus (the “Preliminary Prospectus”) with the securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces and territories in Canada for the proposed initial public offering of subordinate voting shares in BBTV Holdings (the “Offering”). The number of subordinate voting shares to be sold and the price per subordinate voting share have not yet been determined.

The Offering is being underwritten by a syndicate of underwriters led by Canaccord Genuity Corp. and Scotia Capital Inc., as joint active bookrunners (the “Lead Underwriters”), and also including CIBC Capital Markets, as bookrunner, BMO Capital Markets, Eight Capital, Stifel GMP, Cormark Securities Inc. and PI Financial Corp. (collectively with the Lead Underwriters, the “Underwriters”).

Clark Wilson LLP and Torys LLP are acting as legal counsel to BBTV Holdings and Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP is acting as legal counsel to the Underwriters.

BBTV Holdings intends, immediately following the closing of the Offering, to use the net proceeds from the Offering to acquire all of the issued and outstanding securities of the media and technology company BroadbandTV Corp. (“BroadbandTV”) and will carry on the business of BroadbandTV as the business of the Company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

The Preliminary Prospectus contains important information relating to the Offering and has not yet become final for purposes of a distribution of securities to the public. No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved the contents of this news release. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale or any acceptance of an offer to buy these securities in any province or territory of Canada prior to the time of receipt for the final prospectus or other authorization is obtained from the securities regulatory authority in such province or territory. Copies of the Preliminary Prospectus may be obtained from any of the Underwriters and will be available under BBTV Holdings’ profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

BBTV Holdings has applied to list its subordinate voting shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”) under the symbol “BBTV”. Listing is subject to the approval of the TSX in accordance with its original listing requirements. The TSX has not conditionally approved the Company’s listing application.

The securities under the Offering have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “U.S. Securities Act”), or the securities laws of any state of the United States and may not be offered, sold or delivered, directly or indirectly, in the United States or to, or for the account of benefit of, U.S. Persons (as such term is defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act), except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any of these securities in any jurisdiction in which the offering or sale is not permitted.

About BBTV

BBTV is a media and technology company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. BBTV is an enabling platform with a stated mission of advancing the world through the democratization of content. From individual content creators to global media companies, BBTV monetizes the media of content owners through end‐to‐end management, distribution and monetization solutions, powered by its innovative VISO Platform, including related proprietary technology, while allowing content owners to focus on their core competency – content creation. In June 2020, BBTV had the second most unique monthly viewers of digital platforms with 596 million globally, who consumed more than 54 billion minutes of video content, the most among media companies. 1 www.bbtv.com

Forward‐Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward‐looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, which reflects the Company’s current expectations regarding future events. Forward‐looking information is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company’s control, which could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forward‐looking information. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, failure to complete the Offering and related transactions, and the factors discussed under “Risk Factors” in the preliminary prospectus of the Company dated October 7, 2020. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update such forward‐looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law.

1 Source: ComScore, across the top 12 countries of the world tracked by ComScore, which represents approximately 50% of the world’s internet population.

For Further Information:
BBTV Holdings
Dan Gamble, Head of PR and Corporate Communications
dgamble@bbtv.com
+1 778 873 0422