Day: February 4, 2022

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LeddarTech Announces 140 Million USD in Series D Financing Combined With Debt Facility

The latest financing supports LeddarTech’s accelerated growth and development efforts for its unique proprietary sensor fusion and perception automotive solutions.

QUEBEC CITY, Feb. 03, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — LeddarTech®, a global leader in providing the most flexible, robust and accurate ADAS and AD sensing technology, is pleased to announce a successful financing round with an investment of US$ 140M, which comprises a Series D first close of US$ 116M and debt facility of US$ 24M.

FS Investors led the financing round with the participation of Investissement Québec, BDC Capital, Go Capital, certain funds managed by Fidelity Investments Canada ULC, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Export Development Canada, ams OSRAM, Desjardins Capital, UI Investissement, Cowen Investment II LLC and other LeddarTech management. The debt facility was secured with Desjardins Group.

This investment will accelerate the development and commercialization of LeddarTech solutions. In addition, LeddarTech will use the funds to augment engineering resources to meet the demands from global OEM and Tier 1-2 automotive customers actively engaged with the company for sensor fusion and perception sensing solutions.

“Our decision to partner with LeddarTech began with our introduction to the corporate senior management team. Individually, the senior team possess decades of experience in the technology industry. In addition, many have worked with major global automotive and sensing technology companies,” stated Nick Stone, founder and partner of FS Investors. “An extensive due diligence process coupled with strong customer validation confirmed that LeddarTech’s unique solution is the best positioned in the market to unlock mass adoption of ADAS and AD by breaking typical software dependency on hardware in sensing,” according to Mr. Stone, concluding that: “The LeddarTech solution, called LeddarVision™, provides customers with the flexibility to quickly scale across vehicle models and deliver faster to market with greater performance at a lower cost.”

“The success of this round is a testament to the growth and industry recognition LeddarTech has achieved. I am delighted to welcome FS Investors as our most recent investors, who bring vast experience and expertise in the deep tech sector,” stated Charles Boulanger, CEO of LeddarTech. “I was impressed by the quality and thoroughness of their due diligence and their exceptional understanding of the ADAS and AD market, which confirms the value of our unique software solution. Our team and I look forward to working with FS Investors, our other new investors and our existing partners to enable our customers to significantly deploy our reliable and cost-effective ADAS and AD solutions across their brands and markets,” Mr. Boulanger concluded.

Cowen and Desjardins Capital Markets acted as co-advisors in this investment round.

About LeddarTech

Founded in 2007, LeddarTech has evolved to become a comprehensive end-to-end environmental sensing company by enabling customers to solve critical sensing, fusion and perception challenges across the entire value chain. The company offers cost-effective and scalable solutions such as LeddarVision™, a raw-data sensor fusion and perception platform that generates a comprehensive 3D environmental model with multi-sensor configurations to support Level 2+ to Level 5 full autonomy. It is scalable to support all vehicle automation levels. In addition, LeddarTech supports LiDAR makers and Tier 1-2 automotive system integrators with LeddarSteer™, a digital beam steering device, and the LiDAR XLRator development solution for automotive-grade solid-state LiDAR development based on the LeddarEngine™ and core components from global semiconductor partners. The company is responsible for several innovations in cutting-edge automotive and mobility remote-sensing applications, with over 100 patented technologies (granted or pending) enhancing ADAS and autonomous driving capabilities.

Additional information about LeddarTech is accessible at www.leddartech.com and on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Contact:
Daniel Aitken, Vice-President of Global Marketing, Communications and Investor Relations, LeddarTech Inc.
Tel.: + 1-418-653-9000 ext. 232
daniel.aitken@leddartech.com

Leddar, LeddarTech, LeddarSteer, LeddarEngine, LeddarVision, LeddarSP, LeddarCore, LeddarEcho, VAYADrive, VayaVision, XLRator and related logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of LeddarTech Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other brands, product names and marks are or may be trademarks or registered trademarks used to identify products or services of their respective owners.

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MULTIMEDIA UPDATE – Modelo Rewards UFC’s Biggest Fans With Unprecedented Access Year-Long to Premier Fight Nights

Top prize includes highly coveted floor seats to every UFC Pay-Per-View event for an entire year, and behind-the-scenes access with UFC Broadcaster Jon Anik

UFC

UFC

CHICAGO, Feb. 03, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Modelo, the Official Beer of UFC, knows that UFC fans are as passionate as they come. To reward their Fighting Spirit, Modelo is providing unprecedented access and experiences to the sport they love. With the help of DraftKings Inc. (Nasdaq: DKNG), UFC enthusiasts will have a shot to compete and win cash prizes and the “golden ticket” grand prize: floor seats, travel and accommodations, to the year’s biggest UFC Pay-Per-View events in Las Vegas and other cities across the United States for a full year*.

The unique prizes don’t end there. In addition to a pair of gold tickets to sit in floor seats for the biggest fights of the year, the grand prize winner will get to be a guest of UFC broadcaster, Jon Anik during fight week, where they can take part in Jon’s pre-fight announcer rituals, receive exclusive behind-the-scenes access to pre-fight weigh-ins, and participate in meet-and-greets with iconic UFC personalities. Anik will also lend his trademark high-energy voice to reward the grand prize winners with special walkout announcement videos, which are normally reserved for UFC fighters as they enter the Octagon on fight night, while the winner and their guest walk to their seats, along with much more!

“Modelo and UFC are offering the ultimate fighting experience for our passionate fans – giving an opportunity to win unparalleled and close-up access to all of the best action,” Anik said. “I just knew I wanted to be part of that fan experience, especially because of the sheer number of times I have delivered Modelo’s ‘Brewed for those with the Fighting Spirit,’ tagline over the years.”

The contest will run through DraftKings, and fans 21+ can enter for their shot to win by visiting draftkings.com/modelo. Fans will have the opportunity to compete for prizes for each PPV event- February 12, March 5 and April 9. The best lineups from the first two contests will win cash prizes and the top score from the final week will win the Modelo “golden ticket” grand prize. The contest opens February 1, 2022 and runs until April 9, 2022.

“As we continue our ongoing partnership with the UFC, Modelo is always thinking about how to bring one-of-a-kind experiences to our passionate, shared fanbase,” said Greg Gallagher, Vice President of Brand Marketing, Modelo. “We can’t wait to reward the Fighting Spirit of fans with what we’re calling the ‘gold standard’ of experiences and our biggest UFC prizing yet – an opportunity to immerse themselves into UFC in a big way that hasn’t been done before.”

*Pick winning fighters and you could win Grand Prize tickets to 10 UFC PPV fights in the U.S., June 2022 – May 2023. No purchase or payment necessary to enter. Must be 21 years or older to enter with verified age. 50 U.S./DC only. Void where prohibited. Contest series to begin 2/1/22 and end 4/15/22. Exact Contest dates are subject to change, pending UFC fight schedules. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com for details and Official Rules. No alcohol is awarded with any prize.

ABOUT MODELO® 
Born in 1925 in the small town of Tacuba, Mexico, Modelo has been bringing distinctive high-quality beer to people ever since, including Modelo Especial®, Modelo Negra®, and a flavorful lineup of Modelo Cheladas. Modelo Especial is a golden, full-flavored Pilsner-style Lager with a clean, crisp finish. As the #1 imported beer in the U.S., Modelo Especial recently surpassed 150MM cases sold in 2021. The Modelo family of beers are exclusively brewed, imported and marketed for the U.S. by Constellation Brands.

About UFC® 
UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with more than 625 million fans and 187 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world, while broadcasting to approximately 900M TV households across more than 175 countries. UFC’s athlete roster features the world’s best MMA athletes representing more than 75 countries. The organization’s digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the world’s leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC is owned by global entertainment, sports and content company Endeavor, and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok: @UFC.

Press Contact:
Stephanie McGuane
Stephanie.McGuane@Cbrands.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/dc7f867a-8667-4158-b6fe-11f78f2df421

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Facebook Share Price Plummets, Leading Broad Rout of US Tech Stocks

The same technology companies that helped drag the U.S. stock market back from the depths of the pandemic recession in 2021 led the market into a sharp plunge on Thursday after Meta Platforms, the company that owns Facebook, revealed that user growth on its marquee product has hit a plateau, and revenue from advertising has fallen off sharply.

Meta was not the only U.S. tech company to suffer on Thursday. Snap Inc., the owner of Snapchat; Pinterest, Twitter, PayPal, Spotify and Amazon all suffered sharp sell-offs during trading.

U.S. tech stocks are facing a variety of major challenges right now, including a possible economic slowdown, changes to privacy rules, increased regulatory pressure and competitive challenges that have pushed users — especially young people — to new platforms such as TikTok.

Every major U.S. stock index was down significantly on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling by 1.45%, the S&P 500 down 2.44%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq down 3.74%.

Meta’s Facebook struggles

Although the pain was spread broadly across the tech sector Thursday, it was the travails of Facebook that captured much of the public’s attention. The company’s shares, which were trading at $323 when the markets closed Wednesday, opened on Thursday at $242.48 and never recovered, closing at $237.76.

The 27% decline in the company’s share value translated into a loss of more than $230 billion in market value, an utterly unprecedented one-day loss for a single firm.

The share price began its tumble after the company announced for the first time ever that its total number of monthly users had not risen in the fourth quarter of 2021. Additionally, in its key North American market, Facebook saw monthly users decline slightly.

The stagnant user figures raised concerns about the company’s ability to grow even as more bad news poured in from its advertising business, which generates the overwhelming majority of the company’s profits.

Last year, Apple changed the privacy setting on its iPhones and other devices, requiring apps, including Facebook, to get each user’s explicit permission to track their activity on the internet. Prior to that change, Facebook had made extensive use of tracking software to deliver targeted advertising to its users — something its advertising clients were willing to pay a significant premium for.

Since Apple instituted the change, the majority of users have declined to allow Facebook to track their browsing, greatly diminishing the company’s ability to target advertisements. On Thursday, Meta Chief Financial Officer David Wehner told investors the company expects the changes to cost it $10 billion in advertising revenue in 2022.

Trouble with young users

Facebook has long struggled to attract younger users to its platform, and on Thursday, company officials admitted that the firm is finding it difficult to compete with TikTok, an app created by the Chinese firm ByteDance, which allows users to share brief videos.

In a call with investors, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company’s answer to TikTok, a service called Reels, is still being developed.

“Over time, we think that there is potential for a tremendous amount of overall engagement growth” he said. “We think it’s definitely the right thing to lean into this and push as hard to grow Reels as quickly as possible and not hold on the brakes at all, even though it may create some near-term slower growth than we would have wanted.”

Zuckerberg, who holds 55% of the voting shares of Meta, giving him de facto control of the company, saw his personal wealth fall by an estimated $24 billion as a result of Thursday’s market rout.

Economic headwinds

Over the past year, investors have consistently pushed the share prices of U.S. tech firms higher. Now, though, with the Federal Reserve preparing a series of interest rate increases meant to cool the U.S. economy and slow price inflation, investors appear to be reconsidering the prices they are willing to pay.

Investors typically judge the value of a stock based on its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, which is determined by dividing the share price by the fraction of the company’s earnings represented by an individual share of stock.

When a company’s shares trade at a high P/E ratio that is usually because investors expect the underlying business to continue growing. However, that growth can be hampered by a slowdown in the broader economy, something many investors expect to see in the coming m

Political challenges

In addition to concerns about economic headwinds, the tech sector is facing a distinctly unfriendly regulatory environment in the U.S. Lawmakers in both parties have expressed their concern that big technology companies enjoy too much influence over areas like popular culture and political discourse but face too little accountability.

Facebook and its subsidiary, Instagram, were subjected to hostile congressional hearings last year, after a whistleblower revealed internal documents that showed the companies understood that their products could be harmful to some users but took little action to address the issue.

During the hearings, high-profile lawmakers, including Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, called for Facebook to be broken up into multiple, smaller companies.

Source: Voice of America

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59 new Covid-19 infections reported along with four new fatalities

Some 359 new Covid-19 cases and four new deaths attrirbuted to Covid-19 have been reported nationwide over the past 24 hours with the total reaching 135,660 including 562 deaths, according to the National Taskforce Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control.

Yesterday, 269 Covid-19 patients were discharged from hospitals nationwide, Director General of the Department of Communicable Diseases Control, Ministry of Health, Dr Rattanaxay Phetsouvanh told a press conference this morning.

Of the new confirmed cases, 342 were classified as domestic infections and 17 as imported cases.

The domestic infections included 84 in Vientiane, 47 in Xieng Khuang, 43 in Huaphan and 26 in Xayaboury. Meanwhile, 21 cases were reported in Attapeu, 17 in Xaysomboun, 16 in Xekong and 14 in Vientiane (province).

Source: Lao News Agency

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NATO Chief Stoltenberg Appointed to Run Norway’s Central Bank

Norway’s central bank, Norges Bank, announced Friday it has appointed NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to take over as its next governor after his term leading the military alliance ends later this year.

The central bank announced the appointment in a statement on its website, saying Stoltenberg had been appointed by Norway’s King Harald V.

Stoltenberg will take over from current Norges Bank Governor Øystein Olsen, who is retiring later this month after holding the position since Jan. 1, 2011.

The 62-year-old Stoltenberg, a former prime minister of Norway, also served as finance minister from 1996 to 2000. He had previously said if he got the central bank governor position, he wouldn’t be able to start before leaving his NATO job on Oct. 1.

The central bank statement said it hopes Stoltenberg can start in his new role by Dec. 1. Until then, Norges Bank Deputy Governor Ida Wolden Bache will run the bank in an interim capacity beginning March 1.

In a statement, Norway’s current finance minister, Trygve Slagsvold, said he had been “concerned with identifying the best central bank governor for Norway, and I’m convinced that this is Jens Stoltenberg.”

The appointment ends speculation that Stoltenberg would stay on at NATO, and the search for a successor must now begin ahead of a meeting of member nation leaders in June this year.

Source: Voice of America

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Japan grants USD8.7 Million to Laos For Enhancing Disaster Risk Reduction

The signing ceremony for the Exchange of Notes for a Grant Aid Project entitled “Economic and Social Development Programme” was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR, Vientiane. The Notes were signed and exchanged by Ambassador of Japan to the Lao PDR Kobayashi Kenichi, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Phoxay Khaykhamphithoune under witness by representatives from the line ministries.

The Government of Japan will provide grant aid of JPY1 billion (about USD8.7 million) to implement the Economic and Social Development Programme which will provide the Government of the Lao PDR with necessary equipment worth JPY1 billion (about 8.7million) for enhancing the capability of disaster risk reduction. The programme is expected to reduce the damage caused by natural disasters especially flood through prompt response by enhancing the early warning system.

There have been growing concerns over the frequency and intensity of natural disasters caused by climate change in the Lao PDR. Reducing the vulnerability of the society to natural disasters as well as reducing damage is one of the top priorities for the Lao government in order to realize its sustainable economic and social development.

“We sincerely hope that this project would contribute to protect lives of the people and realize sustainable economic and social development in the Lao PDR. In addition, Japan will continue to share its accumulated knowledge, experience and technology for Disaster Risk Reduction as a Strategic Partner”, said Ambassador Kobayashi at the ceremony.

Source: Lao News Agency