Smartchase Corp. Signs MOU to Acquire Asset Manager and Launch New Fintech
OTTAWA, May 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - Smartchase Corp. (OTC: SCHS) ("Smartchase") is pleased to announce that it has signed a binding Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") with a related party to acquire 90% of the outstanding shares of Northern Coast Asset Management Inc. ("NCAM"), a Canadian manufacturer of alternative investment funds. This acquisition marks an important step in Smartchase's strategy to become a leading Canadian Fintech.
NCAM is a dynamic player in the private capital sector in Canada and has extensive experience in servicing independent financial advisors. [The term "independent" refers to independence from the uber-large Canadian banks and insurance companies]. The biggest five Canadian banks dominate the Canadian financial landscape, owning 89 per cent of the market. In comparison, the largest five banks in the United States only have a 35 per cent share of their respective market. (World Economic Forum, "The Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015").
NCAM's business model was built on filling the voids left behind by the large Canadian banks and meeting the needs of "average" Canadians who increasingly feel left behind both as investors and as borrowers.
Included in the acquisition are Northern Coast Strategic Fund Inc. ("NCSF") and Northern Coast ABL Inc. ("NCABL"), both wholly owned subsidiaries of NCAM. NCSF was founded in 2015 and has emerged as an innovative private capital fund specializing in alternative residential mortgages for Canadian Homeowners. NCABL is set to launch its first private capital fund in Q4-2019 and will fund alternative asset-backed loans to Canadian small businesses.
Smartchase's acquisition of NCAM will be a key component of its strategy to become a leading provider of financial services and structured investment products to independent financial advisors in Canada, and Smartchase's Fintech Flatform will serve to bolster compliance and increase NCAM's reach across Canada.
"This acquisition by Smartchase will bring together two highly synergetic assets: Northern Coast's knowledge of the private capital market and the role played by independent financial advisors, combined with Smartchase's Fintech Platform", said Thomas Jones, CEO of Smartchase Corp. and President of Northern Coast Financial Inc. "This combination of human experience and Fintech efficiency means that Smartchase's Canadian subsidiary, NCAM, will empower independent financial advisors in Canada to compete head-to-head with their much larger competitors with greater efficiency and stronger compliance."
In addition to the acquisition of NCAM, the MOU also includes the following:
- The parties agreed to honor the existing NCSF agreements with Black Hawk Consulting Inc., NCSF's mortgage administrator;
- Smartchase will work with NCAM to find new sources of capital to fund asset-backed loans;
- Smartchase agreed to work with NCAM to make NCSF and NCABL issues more widely available by adding an IFM (registered Investment Fund Manager) and qualifying for listing on Fundserv®.
Smartchase will release additional details of the acquisition prior to the signing of the definitive purchase agreement, currently planned to take place for June 20th, 2019.
About Smartchase
Smartchase Corp. is focused on the use of Fintech (Financial Technology) to streamline regulated transactions and regulated actions. Smartchase is a U.S. public corporation quoted on the OTC Markets under the symbol "SCHS".
About NCAM
Northern Coast Asset Management Inc. is a private Canadian corporation based in Toronto, Canada, and is a manufacturer of investment products tailored for retail Canadian investors. NCAM's subsidiaries fund alternative loans to Canadian consumers and small businesses.
Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of the applicable securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to the proposed terms and anticipated benefits of the acquisition. These forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of Smartchase at the time such statements were made. Actual future results may differ materially as forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Smartchase to materially differ from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of Smartchase believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, Smartchase cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information, or the material factors or assumptions used to develop such forward-looking information, will prove to be accurate. Smartchase does not undertake any obligations to release publicly any revisions for updating any voluntary forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law.
SOURCE Smartchase Corp.
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