PHOENIX, Arizona, January 17, 2023–(BUSINESS WIRE)–VIQ Solutions Inc. (“viq“, “VIQ Solutions” or the “Company“) (TSX and Nasdaq: VQS), a global provider of secure, AI-powered digital voice and video capture technology and transcription services, announces today that the Company has entered into a senior secured loan with Beedie Investments Ltd. (the “Lender“), pursuant to which the Lender will make available to the Company up to US$15 million (the “Loan“), pursuant to the terms of a credit agreement by and between the Company and the Lender (the “credit agreement“).
US$12 million of the Loan has been advanced to the Company as an initial advance (the “initial advance“), with an additional US$3 million available to the Company to be withdrawn in subsequent advances in tranches of a minimum of US$1 million (each, a “rear advance“).
“We are excited to kick off the new year with this announcement and begin our partnership with Beedie Capital, a renowned firm with a stellar reputation and a history of value-added collaboration. This new facility is a significant step forward for VIQ Solutions. It extends the term of our loan base and provides additional capacity to drive our future growth while allowing us to continue executing on our operational plans to drive margin expansion in digital documentation globally,” said Sebastien Paré, CEO of VIQ.
“We are proud to partner with VIQ Solutions as they continue to scale one of the leading international platforms for digital documentation,” said David Bell, Managing Director of Beedie Capital. “We believe VIQ Solutions’ technology is a significant differentiator in an industry and vertical that still operates in a very traditional fashion, and we are excited about the opportunity to help them drive growth through innovation.”
Terms of the Credit Agreement and Issue of Warrants
The Company currently intends to use the proceeds of the Down Payment as follows: (i) approximately US$9 million to refinance all existing senior debt; (ii) approximately US$2 million for working capital, and (iii) approximately US$1 million for permitted growth initiatives. Subsequent Advances will be used by the Company for business acquisitions or growth initiatives, unless otherwise agreed by the Lender.
The outstanding amount of the Loan will accrue interest at 12.5% per annum, made up of cash interest of 9.5% per annum, calculated and paid monthly, and interest paid in kind will be charged at a rate of 3.0% per annum. , compounded monthly and added to the outstanding principal of the Loan. A standby commission will be charged monthly at a rate of 1.5% per year on the undrawn amount of the standby line. The Company paid an opening commission of 1.5% of the Loan. The Lender has also been granted observer rights at the meeting.
In connection with the initial advance under the Loan, the Company has issued 7,968,750 warrants to purchase common shares (each, one “Order“) to the Lender. Each Warrant is exercisable to purchase one common share of the Company (each, one “Warrant Share“) at an exercise price of US$0.256 per Warrant share. The Warrants expire on January 16, 2030. In addition, the Company has agreed to issue additional warrants to purchase common shares (each, one “subsequent order“) in connection with Subsequent Advances, with a number of Warrants equal to 17% of the amount of such Subsequent Advance divided by the exercise price of such Subsequent Warrants. Subsequent Warrants will have an exercise price equal to the 5 volume-weighted average one-day price of the Company’s common shares immediately prior to the earlier of: (i) the announcement of the applicable Subsequent Advance, and (ii) the applicable Subsequent Advance financing date of issue.
The Loan will be secured against all assets and property of the Company and certain subsidiaries pursuant to a general security agreement. The transaction contemplated in the Credit Agreement has been conditionally approved by the Toronto Stock Exchange.
SenaHill served as exclusive financial advisor to VIQ Solutions and Dentons Canada LLP acted as legal advisor.
A copy of the Credit Agreement will be available on the Company’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
No securities regulatory authority has approved or disapproved of the content of this news release. This press release is for informational purposes only and shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale is illegal. prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such state or jurisdiction.
To learn more about VIQ, visit viqsolutions.com.
About VIQ Solutions
VIQ Solutions is a global provider of secure, AI-powered digital video and voice capture technology and transcription services. VIQ offers a comprehensive, seamless solution set that delivers intelligent automation, enhanced with human review, to drive transformation in how content is captured, secured and repurposed into actionable insights. The cybersecure AI technology and services platform is deployed in the most rigid security environments, including the criminal justice, legal, insurance, government, corporate finance, media and transcription service provider markets, enabling them to improve quality and accessibility of evidence, to easily identify predictive insights and achieve digital transformation faster and at lower cost.
forward-looking statements
Certain statements included in this press release constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information (“forward-looking statements”) under applicable securities law. Such forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about management’s current expectations and plans for the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes.
Forward-looking statements generally contain statements with words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “expect”, “plan”, “intend”, “estimate”, “propose”, “project” or similar words that suggest forward-looking results or statements. . with respect to perspective. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the intended use of proceeds, the Company’s ability to access the reserve facility and the issuance of subsequent Warrants. Forward-looking statements are based on various factors and assumptions that have been used in developing such statements and information, but which may turn out to be incorrect. Although VIQ believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements because VIQ cannot guarantee that such expectations will prove to be correct. In addition to other factors and assumptions that may be identified in this press release, assumptions have been made with respect to, among other things, the Company’s business plans and objectives. Readers are cautioned that the above list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions that have been used.
Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on opinions, assumptions and estimates which, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date of this press release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements are materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, the factors described in greater detail in the “Risk Factors” section of the information Company’s annual form dated March 31, 2022 and in other Company materials filed with Canadian securities regulators and the US Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, available at www.sedar. com and www.sec.gov, respectively. These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of factors that could affect the Company; however, these factors must be carefully considered. There can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will turn out to be correct. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or change any forward-looking statement, or the underlying factors or assumptions, either as the result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
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Contacts
For additional information:
Media:
laura haggard
Marketing director
VIQ Solutions Inc.
Phone: (800) 263-9947
Email: [email protected]
Investor Relations:
laura kiernan
High-touch investor relations
Phone 1-914-598-7733
Email: [email protected]