Genius Group Settles Litigation with Alto Opportunity Master Fund, SPC, Ayrton Capital, LLC and Waqas Khatri
March 29 2023 - 09:45AM
GlobeNewswire Inc.
Genius Group Limited (NYSE American: GNS) (“Genius Group” or the
“Company”), a leading entrepreneur edtech and education group,
today announced it reached an amicable settlement with Alto
Opportunity Master Fund, SPC – Segregated Master Portfolio B,
Ayrton Capital, LLC and Waqas Khatri (the "Parties”) and withdrawn
the complaint, with prejudice, filed by the Company on February 27,
2023 in the United States District Court Southern
District of New York (Case Number 1:23-cv-01639).
All parties have worked diligently together to
ensure a mutually beneficial agreement has been reached for the
joint benefit of the Company’s shareholders and the Parties’
limited partners.
The summary terms of settlement include:
- The Company acknowledging that it
does not believe that Ayrton is an unregistered broker-dealer, has
not violated federal securities laws, and has otherwise committed
no wrongdoing under the terms of the previously agreed upon August
24, 2022 convertible note financing agreement between the Company
and the Parties.
- The Company has opted to make the
remainder of monthly payments it owes on the $18 million
convertible note in cash over time, to ensure no further dilution
of shares. As such, the Company will not be subject to any future
installment-related accelerations at a variable price from the
note, unless consented to by the Company.
- The Company will deliver to the
Parties 13 million ordinary shares relating to the redemption of
convertible notes due for the period from January to March
2023.
- The Parties have cancelled
convertible notes conversion relating to 36 million of the 49
million shares included within the complaint.
- The Parties will release the
remaining $6.5 million of the note currently held in deposit to the
Company.
- The Parties will invest in the next
bona-fide subsequent offering conducted by the Company, at a range
of between $3.7 million to $6.2 million based on the Company’s
current share price, the timing of such future raise to be at the
Company’s discretion and the final amount within the range at the
Parties’ discretion.
- The Company also retains the right
to an early redemption of the note, with a 60-day notice period for
any such redemption.
- Various restrictions related to the
Company’s ability to operate its business were removed, which will
enable further flexibility for the Company’s management navigating
its strategic direction.
- The Company and the Parties have
also reaffirmed their commitment to work together in partnership
for the benefit of their respective investors.
Genius Group’s CEO, Roger Hamilton, said, “We
are very pleased to have reached a settlement in this matter. All
parties have worked hard and shown a high degree of goodwill to
find a satisfactory solution for all sides. I look forward to an
ongoing and mutually beneficial partnership with Alto, Ayrton and
Waqas Khatri.”
Alto and Ayrton Capital’s Principal, Waqas
Khatri, said, “We invested in Genius Group as we believed in the
Company’s mission, model and management. We are pleased to resolved
this matter in a manner that is in the best interests for both our
investors and the Company. We look forward to an ongoing
partnership with Genius Group.”
The settlement of this complaint remains
separate from other legal actions that Genius Group is currently
pursuing and will continue to pursue against various parties, which
unrelated to this now settled matter and does not include Alto
Opportunity Master Fund, SPC – Segregated Master Portfolio B,
Ayrton Capital, LLC and/or Waqas Khatri, for the recovery of
damages that the Company believes have occurred due to market
manipulation of its shares.
About Genius Group
Genius Group is a world leading entrepreneur
Edtech and education group, with a mission to disrupt the current
education model with a student-centered, life-long learning
curriculum that prepares students with the leadership,
entrepreneurial and life skills to succeed in today’s market. The
group has a group user base of 4.3 million users in 200 countries,
ranging from ages 0 to 100.
For more information, please visit
https://www.geniusgroup.net/
Investor Notice
Investing in our securities involves a high
degree of risk. Before making an investment decision, you should
carefully consider the risks, uncertainties and forward-looking
statements described in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F
for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on
May 13, 2022. If any of these risks were to occur, our business,
financial condition or results of operations would likely suffer.
In that event, the value of our securities could decline, and you
could lose part or all of your investment. The risks and
uncertainties we describe are not the only ones facing us.
Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently
deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. In
addition, our past financial performance may not be a reliable
indicator of future performance, and historical trends should not
be used to anticipate results in the future. See “Forward-Looking
Statements” below.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements made in this press release include
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can be
identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “plan,”
“should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “continue,” or
comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements are
inherently subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties, many
of which the Company cannot predict with accuracy and some of which
the Company might not even anticipate and involve factors that may
cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or
suggested. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
these forward-looking statements and are advised to consider the
factors listed above together with the additional factors under the
heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Reports on Form
20-F, as may be supplemented or amended by the Company’s Reports of
a Foreign Private Issuer on Form 6-K. The Company assumes no
obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that
become untrue because of subsequent events, new information or
otherwise.
Contacts
Investors:Flora Hewitt, Vice President of Investor Relations and
Mergers and AcquisitionsEmail: investor@geniusgroup.net
Media Contacts: Adia PREmail: gns@adiapr.co.uk
US Investors: Dave GentryRedChip Companies
Inc1-800-RED-CHIPGNS@redchip.com
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