BMO Completes Acquisition of Radicle Group Inc.

TORONTO, Dec. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Bank of Montreal (BMO) (NYSE: BMO) (TSX: BMO) announced today it has completed the acquisition of Radicle Group Inc., a Calgary-based leader in sustainability advisory services and market-based solutions, and technology-driven emissions measurement and management. Radicle's management team and staff will join BMO Capital Markets' Global Markets group, effective immediately.

BMO announced the acquisition on July 20, 2022. The transaction advances BMO's Climate Ambition to be its clients' lead partner in the transition to a net-zero world. As organizations and individuals work to manage risk and scale the technologies needed to reach climate targets, Radicle's expertise and innovative solutions further establishes BMO as a market leader in helping companies navigate the transition.

Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a highly diversified financial services provider - the 8th largest bank, by assets, in North America. With total assets of $1.14 trillion as of October 31, 2022, and a team of diverse and highly engaged employees, BMO provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to more than 12 million customers and conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, BMO Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets.

Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking information

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements. All such statements are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of, and are intended to be forward-looking statements under, the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and any applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements in this document may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to plans for the integration of Radicle Group Inc., the acceleration of emissions reduction efforts, the provision of more sustainability services and the exploration of new markets, our strategies or future actions, our targets and commitments, the regulatory environment in which we operate, the results of, or outlook for, our operations, and include statements made by our management. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as "will", "would", "should", "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "project", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "goal", "commit", "target", "may", "might", "schedule", "forecast" and "could" or negative or grammatical variations thereof.

By their nature, forward-looking statements require us to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific in nature. There is significant risk that predictions, forecasts, conclusions or projections will not prove to be accurate, that our assumptions may not be correct, and that actual results may differ materially from such predictions, forecasts, conclusions or projections. We caution readers of this document not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements, as a number of factors – many of which are beyond our control and the effects of which can be difficult to predict – could cause actual future results, conditions, actions or events to differ materially from the targets, expectations, estimates or intentions expressed in the forward-looking statements.

The future outcomes that relate to forward-looking statements may be influenced by many factors, including, but not limited to: the anticipated benefits from the proposed transaction are not realized in the time frame anticipated or at all as a result of changes in general economic and market conditions, laws and regulations and their enforcement, and the degree of competition in the business areas in which Radicle Group Inc. operates; the business of Radicle Group Inc. may not perform as expected or in a manner consistent with historical performance; the ability to promptly and effectively integrate Radicle Group Inc.; diversion of management time on transaction-related issues; the evolution of our lending portfolios over time, the need for active and continued participation of stakeholders (including enterprises, financial institutions and governmental and non-governmental organizations), the development and deployment of new technologies and industry-specific solutions, international cooperation, the development of regulations internationally, our ability to successfully implement various initiatives under expected time frames and the compliance of various third parties with our policies and procedures and legal requirements; and those other factors discussed in the Risks That May Affect Future Results section, and the sections related to credit and counterparty, market, insurance, liquidity and funding, operational non-financial, legal and regulatory, strategic, environmental and social, and reputation risk, in the Enterprise-Wide Risk Management section of BMO's 2022 Annual Report, all of which outline certain key factors and risks that may affect our future results and our ability to anticipate and effectively manage risks arising from all of the foregoing factors. We caution that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all possible factors. Other factors and risks could adversely affect our results. Investors and others should carefully consider these factors and risks, as well as other uncertainties and potential events, and the inherent uncertainty of forward-looking statements.

We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by the organization or on its behalf, except as required by law. The forward-looking information contained in this document is presented for the purpose of assisting shareholders and analysts in understanding the proposed transaction and may not be appropriate for other purposes.

SOURCE BMO Financial Group