Benzinga | Mar 19, 2021 09:43AM EDT

TAOP To Acquire Taoping New Media For $15M

Taoping Inc (NASDAQ: TAOP), a provider of smart display terminals and solutions for targeted advertising and online retail, inked an agreement to acquire Taoping New Media Co., Ltd for 1.2 million TAOP shares.

* The purchase price amounts to $15 million based on TAOP's Thursday closing price of $12.36.

* Taoping New Media would become a wholly-owned subsidiary of TAOP's variable interest entity Biznest Internet Technology Co, Ltd.

* Taoping New Media was a media operator in China's out-of-home digital advertising industry. It had acquired smart display screens from TAOP in 2017 and built up its digital advertising network based on TAOP's cloud platform.

* TAOP CEO Jianghuai Lin, as Taoping New Media's major shareholder, would receive 0.6 million shares.

* The acquisition would enable TAOP to foray into a $25.5 billion out-of-home advertising market in China with end-to-end digital marketing solutions as per Lin.

* TAOP's cash and cash equivalents amounted to $0.3 million as of June 2020.

* TAOP stock price climbed 334% in the last three months.

* Price action: TAOP shares traded higher by 5.83% at $13.08 on the last check Friday.