Investee Company Update re Yooma and Board Changes

RNS Number : 1251N

FastForward Innovations Limited

18 May 2020

 

FastForward Innovations Ltd / AIM: FFWD / Sector: Closed End Investments

18 May 2020

FastForward Innovations Ltd

("FastForward", "FFWD" or the "Company")

Investee Company Update: Yooma Corp.

and

Board Changes

FastForward Innovations Ltd, the AIM quoted company focused on investing in fast growing, industry leading businesses, is pleased to provide an update in respect of investee company Yooma Corp. ('Yooma'), announce the resignation of Lorne Abony as Chairman and CEO of the Company and the appointment of existing directors Ed McDermott as CEO, and Ian Burns as Non-Executive Chairman, with immediate effect.

Yooma Corp. Investment and Update

FastForward has agreed to invest $1 million in Yooma as part of a $5 million fundraising round at a price of $0.65 per share (the 'Investment'). This follows the sale of Company's holding in Entertainment Direct Asia (trading as 'Yooya') to Yooma (together the "Enlarged Group"), as announced at 23 April 2020. Following the Investment and the sale of its interest in Yooya, FastForward will hold 3,588,078 shares in Yooma, representing 10.65% of the company, with an implied value of $2,332,000 (circa £1.9 million) based on the subscription price of this $5 million fundraise. On a pro forma basis, in the year to 31 December 2019, the Enlarged Group reported revenue of $451,090, a loss before tax of $537,265 and net assets of $353,000.

Yooma's business plan includes partnering with some of Pan-Asia's leading social and e-commerce platforms creating the first Hemp and CBD focused lifestyle company in Asia. Initially Yooma will focus on hemp-based wellness products in China, but will expand to include licenced CBD products in new territories as the business develops.  Yooma has built what it believes is a high calibre international team of multi-cultural, multi-language industry professionals who specialize in building new to market brands, leveraging live streaming, social media marketing and e-commerce distribution channels.

Yooma CEO, Ron Wardle, commented, "We are pleased that FastForward has reaffirmed its commitment to Yooma through its current investment. We believe that Yooma is well positioned to be one of the first entrants into the hemp lifestyle products category in Asia, through various social and e-commerce platforms, which we expect to generate value for all Yooma shareholders."

Board Changes

Following the Investment, Lorne Abony will be appointed as a Non-Executive Director of Yooma Corp. and will work with the executive team to deliver the Yooma business plan. To pursue his other business interests, the Board of Directors and Mr. Abony have agreed that he will step down as Chairman and CEO of FastForward from today. Mr. Abony has agreed with the Company that he will continue to monitor the Company's interests in Yooma, EMMAC Life Sciences ('EMMAC') (alongside existing director Ed McDermott), Vemo Education ('Vemo') and Leap Gaming, where he is also a director.

FastForward is therefore also pleased to announce the appointment of Ed McDermott, previously a Non-Executive Director, as CEO, and the appointment of Ian Burns, also previously a Non-Executive Director, as Non-Executive Chairman, both with immediate effect.

Mr. McDermott has circa 15 years' experience in the management, financing, and strategic development of growth companies.  He has broad experience in several high growth sectors and, as a finance specialist, has been pivotal in raising over £500 million for public and private companies during his career. Mr. McDermott has been on the Board of FastForward as a Non-Executive Director since February 2018 . 

Ian Burns has been a Director of FFWD since November 2014, following a long career in the finance industry in Guernsey and internationally.  He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales as well as holding other qualifications in the fiduciary and funds sectors and is personally licensed as a fiduciary by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.

Departing Lorne Abony noted ,  "The investment in Yooma is the last deal I led as CEO of FastForward. The last 12 months has been a challenging time for the Company and a number of its investee companies but I believe the portfolio is well positioned to deliver  value over the short-to-medium term.

"EMMAC and Yooma position the Company as the only company on AIM where investors can get an exposure to European medical cannabis and the global hemp and wellness industry. I believe Leap Gaming has established itself as a leader in virtual gaming, and its partnership with IMG is exciting and has the potential to take Leap's business to another level. Portage is back trading in Canada and its price has performed well despite difficult market conditions. Juvenescence is continuing its mission to establish itself as "the" pre-eminent anti aging company, and we look forward to hearing about milestones from its portfolio of projects, and corporate strategy in the coming months. With VEMO I have high hopes that the ISA model will continue to grow and develop and achieve critical scale in the near-term. Lastly, we shall continue to work with Factom to secure its future and deliver on the value of the IP and technology they have developed."

FastForward CEO, Ed McDermott, said , "Lorne has been a great mentor to me personally and most importantly a huge supporter of FFWD. He has created an excellent platform for investors of any size to gain exposure to opportunities that are too often reserved for super high net worth investors or venture capital funds, and I am delighted that we will continue to work with him in his capacity as one of our largest shareholders and a director of four of our investee companies, EMMAC Life Sciences, Vemo Education, Leap Gaming and Yooma.

"We are excited by the potential of Yooma in taking European and US hemp oil products into the largely untapped Chinese market at a time when the Chinese Government is actively encouraging the continued development of online retail in China. The Yooma team has a unique combination of Asian markets insight, and a successful history of financing, launching, and exiting hemp-related businesses in North America and Europe.  "

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 596/2014.

* ENDS*

For further information on the Company please visit www.fstfwd.co   or contact:

Ed McDermott Lance de Jersey	FastForward Innovations Ltd	Email: [e-mail]
James Biddle Roland Cornish	Beaumont Cornish Limited Nomad	Tel: [phone]
Jeremy Dickson	Optiva Securities Limited Broker	Tel: [phone]
Beth Melluish Isabel de Salis	St Brides Partners Ltd Financial PR	Tel: [phone]

Notes

FastForward innovations is an AIM quoted investment company focused primarily on disruptive high growth life sciences and technology businesses particularly within the medical cannabis arena. The Company's strategy is to identify early stage opportunities that have an upcoming investment catalyst and grow its portfolio in terms of value whilst limiting the number of investee companies to a level where relevant time can be devoted to each.

 

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