Completes Acquisition of International Road
Dynamics
OTTAWA, June 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Wi-LAN Inc. (the
"Company") (TSX:WIN) (NASD:WILN) announces it has changed its name
to Quarterhill Inc. ("Quarterhill") and it has completed its
acquisition of International Road Dynamics Inc. ("IRD")
(TSX:IRD).
On April 17, 2017, the Company
announced a plan to transition to a growth-oriented diversified
investment holding company by acquiring businesses that will
operate alongside the Company's intellectual property licensing
business. As part of its strategic transformation, the Company
stated that it would change its public company name to Quarterhill,
while maintaining the WiLAN name and brand for its patent licensing
business. With that change now completed, the Company expects that
trading will begin as Quarterhill on June 6,
2017 under the ticker QTRH on both the NASDAQ and TSX
exchanges.
On April 17, 2017, as part of its
new strategy, the Company also announced its intention to acquire
all the outstanding shares of IRD. This acquisition closed
June 1, 2017. The Company expects IRD
shares will be delisted from the TSX effective June 5, 2017.
Quarterhill has now completed two acquisitions since announcing
its new strategy. On May 4, 2017, the
Company acquired VIZIYA Corp. ("VIZIYA"), a privately-held software
and services provider to multi-national companies. VIZIYA
helps their customers optimize the performance of their capital
assets. As a result, effective today, Quarterhill now has three
wholly-owned subsidiaries: IRD, VIZIYA and WiLAN.
As part of the transition to its acquisition-oriented growth
strategy, the Company has named John
Varghese Senior Vice President, Corporate Investments to
lead its acquisition team. Mr. Varghese has extensive experience
ranging from private equity, venture capital and investment banking
to senior management and board of director roles in various
industries. His career has included senior management roles at CI
Financial Corp., Royal Bank Capital Corporation, Midland Walwyn
Capital Inc. (Merrill Lynch Canada), Jim Pattison Industries and
KPMG Peat Marwick.
"We have completed two acquisitions within a relatively short
period, which has generated significant momentum behind our new
strategy," said Shaun McEwan,
Interim CEO of Quarterhill. "Both purchases meet our acquisition
criteria; they are positioned to benefit from adoption of the
Industrial Internet of Things, and they both come to Quarterhill
with strong and committed management teams, solid financial track
records and significant growth potential. We believe that investing
our resources in these types of promising growth companies will
help to drive the greatest returns to shareholders over time. With
two transactions behind us, the addition of John Varghese to lead our acquisition team gives
us another experienced resource to further build our pipeline of
qualified M&A candidates."
About IRD
IRD is a highway traffic management technology company
specializing in supplying products and systems to the global
Intelligent Transportation Systems industry. IRD is a North
American company based in Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan Canada with sales and service offices
throughout the United States and
overseas. Private corporations, transportation agencies and
highway authorities around the world use IRD's products and
advanced systems to manage and protect their highway
infrastructures.
About Quarterhill
Quarterhill is a diversified investment holding company focused
on growing its business by acquiring technology companies in the
Industrial Internet of Things ("IIoT") segment across multiple
verticals. Quarterhill targets companies with a broad range of
products and services that capture, analyze and interpret data, and
that have strong financial performance, excellent management teams,
strong intellectual property underpinnings and significant
opportunities to develop long-term recurring and growing revenue
streams. Quarterhill is listed on the TSX and NASDAQ under the
symbol QTRH. For more information: www.quarterhill.com.
Forward-looking Information
This news release contains
forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within
the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995 and other United States and
Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements and
forward-looking information are based on estimates and assumptions
made by Quarterhill in light of its experience and its perception
of historical trends, current conditions, expected future
developments and the expected effects of new business strategies,
as well as other factors that Quarterhill believes are appropriate
in the circumstances. Many factors could cause Quarterhill's actual
performance or achievements to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements or
forward-looking information. Such factors include, without
limitation, the risks described in Wi-LAN Inc.'s February 10, 2017 annual information form for the
year ended December 31, 2016 (the
"AIF"). Copies of the AIF may be obtained at www.sedar.com or
www.sec.gov. Quarterhill recommends that readers review and
consider all of these risk factors and notes that readers should
not place undue reliance on any of Quarterhill's forward-looking
statements. Quarterhill has no intention, and undertakes no
obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements or
forward-looking information, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by
law.
All trademarks and brands mentioned in this release are the
property of their respective owners.
SOURCE Wi-LAN Inc.