Marble Financial Inc said it has entered into a binding Letter of Intent (LOI) to acquire eBunch Data and Development Ltd for $550,000 in cash and shares.
eBunch is an innovative Canadian digital marketing firm that specializes in generating more qualified leads per dollar spent for retailers, with a focus on the automotive sector. The company has developed proprietary intellectual property (IP) and artificial intelligence (AI) driven technology to help internal marketing teams reach their ideal and opportunistic audience with targeted digital ads across all platforms and industries.
"This acquisition allows Marble to exponentially expand its reach and partnerships. With access to a broad range of industries, we will be able take on new markets that were previously inaccessible," said Doug Tanner, Marble’s vice president of business development said in a statement.
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"Adding eBunch to our competitive offering will give Marble more opportunities for growth than ever before. We will be able to provide partners with an edge in the ever-changing online market, as well as focus on other lending spaces such as mortgages or home renovation projects that are currently not possible without this acquisition.
“We believe this will be a major asset for leads, sales, and adjudication to our new and existing partners."
Paul Lehal, CEO and owner of eBunch, added: "This acquisition of eBunch by Marble will significantly help dealers who are not equipped for complete online selling - aka Digital Retailing - but understand that the selling of autos and the auto industry, in general, is changing.
“Marble is now equipped to assist these dealerships that are interested in moving forward in that direction.
"The future roadmap entails empowering existing digital merchandising companies with Marble's API so that their payment calculators are accurate to the penny and building widgets for dealerships to help them gather finance leads," he said.
Marble will pay the vendors $350,000 through the issuance of common shares at a price equal to the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of the Marble shares on the Canadian Stock Exchange (CSE) for the five prior trading days ending three trading days prior to the execution of the definitive agreement.
It will also make a minimum cash payment of $200,000, less adjustments.
Additionally, the vendors have a two-year performance-based opportunity to earn $0.10 for every $1.00 in gross income over and above $750,000 in annual incremental revenue growth (AIR) formula.
Due diligence and execution of the definitive agreement are expected to take place on or about June 30, 2022.
Marble said the acquisition of eBunch and associated technology will enable it to monetize the pre-qualified lead with lenders on its Inverite Platform. Qualified consumers will have the ability to be adjudicated and pre-qualified for credit to purchase a vehicle of interest prior to walking into a dealership.
“This presents a tremendous opportunity for both prime and sub-prime lenders leveraging both Inverite and the MyMarble technology platform,” the company noted.
Granting of options
Marble also announced the grant of 300,000 restricted share units (RSU) to Brad McPherson, pursuant to the company's long-term performance incentive plan. Each RSU represents the right to receive, once vested, one common share in the capital of the company.
The RSUs vest as to 25% on each of the dates that is three, six, nine and 12 months from the date of grant.
The company has also granted an aggregate of 2,525,000 stock options under its stock option plan to its directors, employees, and certain consultants. These options expire in five years and vest as follows:
- 675,000 stock options vest in equal one-quarter amounts on the date of grant, and in each of the first year, second year and third year anniversaries from the date of grant;
- 1,250,000 stock options vest as to 50% on the date of grant, and 25% in each of the first year and second year anniversaries from the date of grant;
- 300,000 stock options vest in equal one-quarter amounts every three months from the date of grant
The stock options are issued at $0.13 per share.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com