Benzinga | Aug 4, 2020 08:22AM EDT

Ballantyne Strong Completes Sale Of Strong Outdoor To Firefly Systems And Increases Strategic Investment In Firefly To $13M

Transaction expected to result in pretax gain of approximately $5 million



Charlotte, NC, Aug. 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ballantyne Strong, Inc. (NYSE:BTN) ("Ballantyne Strong" or the "Company"), a holding company with diverse business activities focused on serving the entertainment, retail and advertising markets, today announced that it has completed the sale of its Strong Outdoor out-of-home advertising business to Firefly Systems Inc. ("Firefly").

Strong Outdoor commenced operations in early 2018 and built a digital out-of-home advertising business on over 3,000 New York City taxis. In May 2019, the company transferred its digital taxi-top assets to Firefly in a transaction that leveraged Firefly's strength in digital and contributed to significant improvements in Strong Outdoor's financial performance. The current transaction completes the sale of all of Strong Outdoor's remaining taxi-top advertising business in exchange for equity in Firefly.Ballantyne Strong also increased its strategic investment in Firefly's business, taking a larger shareholder position.

"We are excited to increase our position in Firefly as they expand their digital advertising platform in major cities across the United States," said Mark Roberson, CEO of Ballantyne Strong. "Strong Outdoor established itself as a significant player in the New York out of home advertising market and is a perfect addition to Firefly's successful national rideshare and taxi-top advertising business. As a result of the transactions, Ballantyne will hold Firefly Series A-2 and Series A-3 preferred shares valued at approximately $13 million and expects to recognize a non-cash pretax gain of approximately $5 million in the third quarter. We look forward to participating in Firefly's success as one of its largest venture investors as they leverage their increasing scale in the marketplace."

"Taxi-top advertising is an institution in the New York media landscape," explained Kaan Gunay, co-founder and CEO of Firefly. "By expanding our Firefly fleet with STRONG's existing network in New York, we're able to increase our out-of-home reach, elevate street-level advertising, and provide even greater value to our brand partners -- with no downtime."