Ackroo agrees to 12-month payment plan for BDC loan

HAMILTON, Ontario, Aug. 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ackroo Inc. (TSX-V: AKR; OTC: AKRFF) (the "Company"), a gift card, loyalty marketing, payments and point-of-sale technology consolidator and services provider, is pleased to report they have re-structured their loan with BDC Capital ("BDC"). The current loan consists of:

• $4,000,000 (of which Ackroo has paid back $1,000,000 to date)
• Bears a floating interest rate of BDC Capital's base rate (which is currently 9.3%) plus a Variance of 1.7% per year.
• Includes a 2.55% annual royalty on clients acquired with the facility during the term of the loan, excluding the first year.
• Includes a 0.5% bonus on sale or change of control payment to be made to BDC Capital should the Company sell the business during the term of the loan
• Includes a 1.5% processing fee of the value of the facility (as the funds are tranched) plus $100 a month financing management fee
• Final principal ballon payment of $3,000,000 due on September 15th,2024.

Ackroo and BDC Capital have agreed to re-structure the balloon payment by having Ackroo pay a minimum $50,000 a month for 12 months commencing September 30th,2024 and then a balloon payment of $2,450,000 due on August 31st, 2025. During the term the Company may pay up to the full principal balance owed without prepayment penalty of any kind. The company will maintain all other terms and conditions of the current loan.

"We are very appreciative of the partnership we have with BDC Capital" said Steve Levely, CEO of Ackroo. "The initial loan back in 2019 was at an integral time for the Company as we wanted to continue to execute our roll-up strategy however, we wanted to do so with very minimal dilution to shareholders through equity issuances. Doing accretive deals was and is important for Ackroo so using debt and our own working capital have been important aspects of our strategy over the last 5 years. We have been successful in doing so and are now in a position to not only service the interest payments but also the principal loan itself. We came to a monthly amount that Ackroo can comfortably support while also continuing our capital allocation towards future acquisitions and share buy backs. In all we are very happy with the re-structuring and appreciate the on-going partnership BDC capital extends."

About BDC Capital
BDC Capital is the investment arm of the Business Development Bank of Canada - Canada's only bank devoted exclusively to entrepreneurs. With $3 billion under management, BDC Capital serves as a strategic partner to the country's most innovative firms. It offers a full spectrum of risk capital, from seed investments to transition capital, supporting Canadian entrepreneurs who wish to scale their businesses into global champions. Visit bdc.ca/capital.

About Ackroo

As an industry consolidator, Ackroo acquires, integrates and manages gift card, loyalty marketing, payment and point-of-sale solutions used by merchants of all sizes. Ackroo's self-serve, data driven, cloud-based marketing platform helps merchants in-store and online process and manage loyalty, gift card and promotional transactions at the point of sale. Ackroo's acquisition of payment ISO's affords Ackroo the ability to resell payment processing solutions to their growing merchant base through some of the world's largest payment technology and service providers. As a third revenue stream Ackroo has acquired certain custom software products including hybrid management and point-of-sale solutions that help manage and optimize the general operations for niche industry's including automotive dealers and more. All solutions are focused on helping to consolidate, simplify and improve the merchant marketing, payments and point-of sale ecosystem for their clients. Ackroo is headquartered in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. For more information, visit: .

For further information, please contact:

Steve Levely
Chief Executive Officer | Ackroo
Tel: 416-360-5619 x730
Email: slevely@ackroo.com

The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward Looking Statements
This release contains forecasts and forward-looking statements that are not guarantees of future performance and activities and are subject to risks and uncertainties. The Company has based these forward-looking statements on assumptions and assessments made by its management in light of their experience and their perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors they believe to be appropriate. Important factors that could cause actual results, developments and business decisions to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the Company's ability to raise enough capital to support the Company's go forward plans; the overall global economic environment; the impact of competition and new technologies; general market, political and economic conditions in the countries in which the Company operates; projected capital expenditures and liquidity; changes in the Company's strategy; government regulations and approvals; changes in customers' budgeting priorities; plus other factors that may arise. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date hereof, and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.