Day: April 11, 2022

PHOENIX, April 11, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. (“WillScot Mobile Mini” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: WSC), a North American leader in modular space and portable storage solutions, today announced that it closed the acquisition of Canadian storage services provider Storstac Inc. The transaction was funded with cash on hand and borrowings under the Company’s revolving credit agreement. This acquisition adds over 1,100 storage units in the Company’s existing markets in the greater Toronto area.

Brad Soultz, Chief Executive Officer, commented, “I am excited to welcome the new employees of Storstac Inc. to our team at WillScot Mobile Mini. Storstac’s rental operations expand our presence and capabilities in the greater Toronto area. Consistent with our M&A strategy, we look forward to providing our ‘Ready to Work’ value proposition to new customers and leveraging our commercial and organizational best practices across our newly expanded team and fleet, underpinned by our scalable technology platform. Thank you to both our new and existing team members who are now working together to integrate our operations.”

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The words “estimates,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “forecasts,” “plans,” “intends,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “shall,” “outlook” and variations of these words and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which are generally not historical in nature. Certain of these forward-looking statements include statements relating value creation, the Company’s share price, and the Company’s future performance. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside our control, which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. These risks include, without limitation, the risks and uncertainties described in the periodic reports we file with the SEC from time to time (including our Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2020), which are available through the SEC’s EDGAR system at www.sec.gov and on our website. Any forward-looking statement speaks only at the date which it is made, and WillScot Mobile Mini disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

About WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp.

WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings trades on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol “WSC.” Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, the Company is a leading business services provider specializing in innovative flexible workspace and portable storage solutions. WillScot Mobile Mini services diverse end markets across all sectors of the economy from a network of over 275 branch locations and additional drop lots throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.

Contact Information

Investor Inquiries:

Nick Girardi

nick.girardi@willscotmobilemini.com

Media Inquiries:

Scott Junk

scott.junk@willscotmobilemini.com

Advisors most likely to consider using an index fund when deciding how to allocate to crypto over coming year

86% of advisors who are already investing in crypto plan to increase allocations within 12 months

NEW YORK, April 11, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — According to a new Nasdaq survey of 500 financial advisors who are currently or considering allocating to crypto, 72% of advisors would be more likely to invest client assets in crypto if a spot ETF product were offered in the United States.

Among advisors already investing in crypto, 86% expect to increase their allocations over the next 12 months, while 0% report plans to decrease. Of the same group, 50% are already using Bitcoin futures ETFs and 28% plan to start using them in the next 12 months.

On average, advisors currently or considering investing in crypto state that their ideal crypto allocation is 6% of a client’s total portfolio. Notably, some 69% of these advisors would consider using an index fund for broad exposure, followed by sector-specific index funds (57%), actively managed funds (52%), individual digital assets (40%) and high-yield funds (31%).

Despite strong interest in a passive approach to crypto and a spot crypto ETF, the surveyed advisors are not confident that such a product will be approved in 2022. Only some 38% find it likely, 31% find it unlikely, 24% find it neither likely nor unlikely, and 7% are not sure.

“Over the last decade, financial advisors have been focused on shifting assets into index funds. As they incorporate digital assets into their investment strategies, they are expressing strong interest in a similar vehicle that can offer broad asset class exposure for their clients,” said Jake Rapaport, Head of Digital Asset Index Research, Nasdaq. “The vast majority of advisors we surveyed either plan to begin allocating to crypto or increase their existing allocation to crypto. As demand continues to surge, advisors will be looking for an institutional solution to the crypto question that now dominates client conversations.”

RIAs Early Adopters as Educational and ESG Opportunities Surface

The survey finds that crypto adoption is highest among registered investment advisors (RIAs), with 34% of RIAs using crypto compared to 19% of independent broker-dealers (IBDs) and 17% of wirehouse advisors. About half of RIAs (49%) report that compliance rules and restrictions are a barrier to crypto investing, compared to 78% of advisors in all other channels.

Some 10% of advisors report being very knowledgeable about crypto, and 9% feel very confident in their ability to advise clients on crypto. Virtually all advisors surveyed (98%) express interest in learning more about crypto and digital assets.

Among respondents, some 7% say that ESG is a very important consideration when determining a client’s strategy toward digital assets.

“Crypto inflows through advisor channels show no signs of stopping, even as advisors grapple with compliance considerations and look for guidance from educational materials from other industry participants, including asset managers and index providers,” added Rapaport. “We expect ESG and crypto considerations to converge as investors continue to direct assets into both.”

In March 2022, Nasdaq and Hashdex, a leading global crypto-focused asset manager, announced the launch of the Nasdaq Advisor Academy: Digital Assets curriculum to provide all financial professionals with informative and educational resources on the digital asset ecosystem.

For more information on the Nasdaq Crypto Index™, please visit here.

Methodology
This Nasdaq survey was conducted by 8 Acre Perspective. A total of 500 financial advisors who are currently or considering allocating to crypto were surveyed in March 2022. For further details on the survey methodology, please contact a Nasdaq media representative.

About Nasdaq
Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) is a global technology company serving the capital markets and other industries. Our diverse offering of data, analytics, software, and services enables clients to optimize and execute their business vision with confidence. To learn more about the company, technology solutions and career opportunities, visit us on LinkedIn, on Twitter @Nasdaq, or at www.nasdaq.com.

Media Contact
Emily Pan
emily.pan@nasdaq.com
+1 (646) 637-3964

NDAQG

Vaix Technology Enhances Sportradar’s Managed Trading Services (MTS) Platform, Which Helps Betting Operators Increase Engagement and Retention

ST. GALLEN, Switzerland and LONDON, April 11, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sportradar (NASDAQ: SRAD) (“Sportradar” or “the Company”), the leading global sports technology company creating immersive experiences for sports fans and bettors, today announced the acquisition of Vaix Limited, a pioneer in developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions specifically designed for the iGaming industry. Vaix’s innovative AI technology allows betting and gaming operators to gain a personalized view of their customers, which enables them to provide a more targeted, player-friendly experience. For example, betting and gaming operators can offer users the best possible bet without searching and give them the right offer based on players’ future value and churn probability. The acquisition does not have a material impact on the Company’s annual outlook for 2022, provided on March 30, 2022.

For over two years, Sportradar has partnered with Vaix and incorporated its technology into its Managed Trading Services (MTS) offering. Sportradar’s MTS solution is a sophisticated trading, risk, live odds and liability management offering that helps betting operators boost margins and profits, while increasing efficiency and managing risk. The MTS solution is also increasingly important in the U.S. market, which is growing rapidly post legalization in 2018, as U.S. operators compete for customers. Vaix’s advanced AI learning capabilities will provide betting operators already engaged with Sportradar’s platform the opportunity to gain access to more personalized insights and suggestions relating to user preferences.

Founded in 2016 by John O’Malia and Andreas Hartmann, Vaix has fed over 60 billion transactions into its AI (60 million per day) to offer a personalized experience to more than 50 million users for tier 1, 2 and 3 operators and platforms on all continents. Winner of several awards and recognized as one of the best service providers in the online gaming industry, Vaix most recently received the 2021 Data and AI Partner Award at the EGR B2B Awards.

Paolo Personeni, Managing Director of Managed Betting Services at Sportradar said: “VAIX products with their Artificial Intelligence and algorithms are now being natively integrated as part of the Sportradar Sportsbook platform, enhancing our data analytics, promotions system and player personalization. All Managed Betting Services customers will enjoy a faster and simplified integration. The acquisition of Vaix is the culmination of a very important and productive partnership we have had with the company over two years.”

Andreas Hartmann, Co-founder and CEO at Vaix, said: “Fully joining forces with Sportradar is recognition of the power of Vaix’s technology, and a dream come true for our vision to bring AI to the entire iGaming industry. Vaix’s capabilities can provide all of Sportradar’s operators with the power to truly personalize their Offering, Marketing and CRM, as they seek to attract and engage players.”

Terms of the acquisition are not disclosed.

About Sportradar
Sportradar is the leading global sports technology company creating immersive experiences for sports fans and bettors. Established in 2001, the company is well-positioned at the intersection of the sports, media and betting industries, providing sports federations, news media, consumer platforms and sports betting operators with a range of solutions to help grow their business. Sportradar employs more than 2,900 full time employees across 20 countries around the world. It is our commitment to excellent service, quality and reliability that makes us the trusted partner of more than 1,700 customers in over 120 countries and an official partner of the NBA, NHL, MLB, NASCAR, UEFA, FIFA, ICC and ITF. We cover more than 890,000 events annually across 92 sports. With deep industry relationships, Sportradar is not just redefining the sports fan experience; it also safeguards the sports themselves through its Integrity Services division and advocacy for an integrity-driven environment for all involved.

Sportradar and the Sportradar logo are registered trademarks of Sportradar. All other third-party trademarks and logos contained in this press release are the property of their respective owners.

About Vaix
Vaix’s mission is to be iGaming’s most comprehensive and effective AI engine. As the industry’s pioneer, Vaix is supporting innovative operators on all continents to utilize Deep Learning for more than 45 million users in the use cases where it matters most: Acquisition & Marketing, Personalization and Responsible Gambling. Visit us at www.vaix.ai.

Press Contact:
Sportradar:
Sandra Lee
comms@sportradar.com

Vaix:
Andreas Hartmann
contact@vaix.com

Sportradar Investor Relations Contact:
Rima Hyder
investor.relations@sportradar.com

• The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence will focus on assessing the potential life cycle environmental impacts of TMC’s planned metal production project from nodules collected from its NORI-D area expected to commence in 2024
• The study will also provide an independent assessment of how the lifecycle environmental impacts of producing metals from the NORI-D Nodule Project compare to producing the same metals from a range of conventional production scenarios from land ores
• An independent LCA study of TMC’s nodule project follows several years of investment by TMC in peer-reviewed industry-level LCA research to understand global environmental and social impacts of producing battery metals from two sources: land ores and seafloor nodules

NEW YORK, April 11, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TMC the metals company Inc. (Nasdaq: TMC) (“TMC” or “The Metals Company”), an explorer of lower-impact battery metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules, today announced that it has chosen the leading lithium-ion battery supply chain research firm, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (“Benchmark”), to conduct an independent life cycle assessment of the environmental impacts of the Company’s planned NORI-D Polymetallic Nodule Project and compare these impacts to producing the same metals from commonly used production pathways using conventional land ores.

The Benchmark LCA study will investigate the potential cradle-to-gate impacts of producing important battery materials including nickel sulfate, cobalt sulfate, copper cathode, manganese silicate and an intermediate NiCuCo matte product from seafloor polymetallic nodules in the NORI-D area. These raw materials are widely used as active cathode materials (CAM) for NMC and other nickel-rich cathode chemistries for lithium-ion batteries, enabling the rapid growth of electrified transport and energy storage. The study will draw upon the Initial Assessment of the NORI-D Property independently compiled by AMC in accordance with the SEC Regulation S-K (subpart 1300) in March 2021 and a range of processing plant location scenarios developed by TMC since then. The Benchmark team will also include an additional third-party verification of the NORI-D Project LCA to ensure its compliance with ISO14040 and 14044 guidelines and standards.

The LCA specialists at Benchmark will draw upon their extensive global baseline impact data of battery precursor materials derived from conventional ores to produce a comparison to the NORI-D Project LCA across multiple categories including global warming potential and disruption of carbon sinks (CO₂ equivalent emissions), waste, water and land use, terrestrial acidification, freshwater and marine eutrophication. Benchmark anticipates completing its comprehensive LCA for TMC in mid-Summer 2022.

Where should metals for the clean energy transition come from?

“Since 2019 TMC has been digging into the data to build a planetary perspective on the impacts of sourcing the metals we will need to electrify one billion EVs,” said Erica Ocampo, Chief Sustainability Officer for The Metals Company. “Our investment in this research has led to the publication of several comparative LCA papers, including a comprehensive white paper covering ~20 impact indicators and two peer-reviewed papers on climate change impacts and waste impacts published in high-impact journals. Based on this work and at a time when the hunt for new mineral resources is expanding into the most biodiverse carbon sinks on the planet, we believe that the polymetallic nodule resource could offer a better way forward to meet the massive metal demand of the clean energy transition. But this is the first time we are commissioning an LCA specifically for our NORI-D Nodule Project, rather than a global EV demand scenario. With first production expected in 2024, we’re delighted to have Benchmark’s independent assessment of how our NORI-D Project stacks up against the known impacts of current land-based supply.”

Charlotte Selvey Miller, Head of ESG at Benchmark, commented: “Benchmark’s ESG division publishes independent assessments, including Global Baseline LCA data, on the lithium-ion battery supply chain and how companies are working towards and managing environmental, social and governance risks and concerns, which is providing detailed insights and ESG metrics not yet seen before in the industry. Through comparing company-specific LCAs, such as this one for The Metals Company, to the Benchmark Global Baseline LCAs, we create the ability to compare processes to an industry average. This allows companies to effectively analyze the ESG risks and opportunities associated with projects to environmentally streamline their processes and approach. Considering the up-scale in global demand, this type of work is an important step in minimizing the upstream impacts of feeding global electrification and the clean energy transition.”

Amid a historic decline in ore grades and in the face of rapidly rising demand, the search for new sources of metals for the clean energy transition risks exacerbating the planetary and social impacts of mining on land. Production of energy transition metals will need to increase six-fold by 2040 to meet the world’s ambitious climate targets, according to the International Energy Agency. The TMC’s portfolio of nodule projects contains an estimated in situ resource of battery metals equivalent to the requirements for 280 million electric vehicles – or the size of the entire U.S. light vehicle fleet.

In January, TMC announced the publication of a peer-reviewed study in the Yale Journal of Industrial Ecology which found that seafloor polymetallic nodules could significantly reduce — and in some scenarios eliminate — the onshore solid waste streams typically generated by metal production from land ores. An earlier peer-reviewed study – published in the Journal of Cleaner Production – found that sourcing critical battery metals from seafloor nodules could reduce the lifecycle climate impacts by up to 90%, compared to land ores.

About The Metals Company

TMC the metals company Inc. (The Metals Company) is an explorer of lower-impact battery metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules, on a dual mission: (1) supply metals for the clean energy transition with the least possible negative environmental and social impact and (2) accelerate the transition to a circular metal economy. The company through its subsidiaries holds exploration rights to three polymetallic nodule contract areas in the Clarion Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean regulated by the International Seabed Authority and sponsored by the governments of Nauru, Kiribati and the Kingdom of Tonga. More information is available at www.metals.co.

About Benchmark Minerals Intelligence

Benchmark is the world’s leading provider of actionable intelligence for the lithium-ion battery and electric vehicle supply chain. Benchmark’s expertise, together with unique and rigorous data collection processes, add real knowledge to opaque industries that are central to the lithium-ion economy. Their services guide the biggest investment decisions, government policy and industry collaboration around the world. Benchmark’s expertise is reinforced by its ESG division that offers a set of subscription and consultancy services providing robust metrics and Life Cycle Assessments measuring the sustainability of the EV supply chain build out. Benchmark ESG provides bespoke independent assessments of the material risks organizations face and investor-driven analysis, driving ESG through the heart of the EV supply chain’s companies. Benchmark ESG assessments assist in reducing future compensation associated with poor ESG risk identification in an industry where sustainability is being widely critiqued.

From the mine to cathodes and anodes, through to the lithium-ion battery cell, Benchmark’s entire supply chain approach is unique and relied upon the world over. More information is available at http://www.benchmarkminerals.com                           

More Info

Media | media@metals.co
Investors | investors@metals.co

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements made in this press release are not historical facts but are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, without limitation, statements that waste streams could be reduced by using deep-sea nodules. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Most of these factors are outside TMC’s control and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: the outcomes of research conducted by third parties including the Life Cycle Assessments; regulatory uncertainties and the impact of government regulation and political instability on TMC’s resource activities; changes to any of the laws, rules, regulations or policies to which TMC is subject; the impact of extensive and costly environmental requirements on TMC’s operations; environmental liabilities; the impact of polymetallic nodule collection on biodiversity in the CCZ and recovery rates of impacted ecosystems; TMC’s ability to develop minerals in sufficient grade or quantities to justify commercial operations; the lack of development of seafloor polymetallic nodule deposit; uncertainty in the estimates for mineral resource calculations from certain contract areas and for the grade and quality of polymetallic nodule deposits; risks associated with natural hazards; uncertainty with respect to the specialized treatment and processing of polymetallic nodules that TMC may recover; risks associated with collection, development and processing operations; fluctuations in transportation costs; testing and manufacturing of equipment; risks associated with TMC’s limited operating history; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; risks associated with TMC’s intellectual property; and other risks and uncertainties, including those in the “Risk Factors” sections, included in the final prospectus and definitive proxy statement, dated and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on August 12, 2021 relating to the business combination, in TMC’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed by TMC with the SEC on March 25, 2022, and in TMC’s other future filings with the SEC. TMC cautions that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive. TMC cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. TMC does not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based except as required by law.