BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–OpenExchange Inc. and KnowledgeVision Systems Incorporated have announced an agreement to merge into a single company, dedicated to serving live, on-demand and streaming video needs of the professional investment and financial services industries worldwide. The boards of both companies have approved the merger, which is expected to be completed later this month. OpenExchange’s Chief Executive Officer Mark Loehr will continue as its CEO, while KnowledgeVision Chief Executive Officer Michael Kolowich will assume the role of Chief Content Officer for the combined entity.
There are many benefits to both customer bases of bringing together these video driven service providers, including:
A STANDARD way for companies, analysts, and financial intermediaries to communicate via remote video with professional and individual investors, both live and on demand
A DAILY STREAM of fresh and relevant video based investor information, delivered directly from the source
A growing and valuable ON DEMAND COLLECTION of video and presentation based investor materials
The merger brings together KnowledgeVision’s patented and proprietary Knovio technology in the hosting, streaming, organization and tracking of on-demand and live video and online presentations, with OpenExchange’s extensive network of video conference connections that link more than 40,000 endpoints in over 60 countries throughout the global financial services sector. This will enable live video programming to be originated from thousands of locations, ranging from traditional video conference rooms and major conference facilities to individual desktops and mobile devices. Customers for the combined company include Citi, UBS, HSBC, London Stock Exchange, CME Group and 100’s of other companies.
“This combination comes at the ideal time in our relationship. OpenExchange has been working with KnowledgeVision’s video technology for over four years, and they continue to deliver cutting edge, feature-rich viewing experiences,” said OpenExchange’s Mark Loehr. “Integrating this patented technology and the team that developed it is key to our strategy of building the world’s leading video communications solutions for the professional investment community.”
“Extending the opportunity to utilize the OpenExchange offerings represents a huge plus for current and future customers of the Knovio smart media platform,” said KnowledgeVision’s Michael Kolowich. “It assures accelerated investment in our advanced video hosting and streaming platform, and enables us to focus our efforts on serving the financial services sector’s unique video needs.”
The transaction is being backed by $5.0 million in new capital from existing and new investors. “This additional capital support will play a vital role in allowing our newly combined organization to continue to hire top-notch talent globally and invest in the necessary features to keep our team at the leading edge of the livestream category,” noted Mark Loehr.
For further information about this merger, be sure to watch our Livestream discussion from the London Stock Exchange studios on Thursday October 10th 09.30 EDT / 14.30 BST at https://kvgo.com/openexc/merger.
About OpenExchange
OpenExchange is a community based video exchange that enhances interaction within the financial industry. Over 2,400 sell side, buy side, and corporate issuers arrange live, direct and multipoint video meetings to deliver valuable investment content and corporate access in a secure and efficient manner. Citi, Barclays and Ipreo LLC (IHS Markit) are strategic owners of OpenExchange.
About KnowledgeVision
KnowledgeVision is the leader in smart media creation, hosting, and tracking technology. Its Knovio online video platform is used by more than 350,000 registered users worldwide in more than 2,000 companies and campuses to create, host, share, organize, collaborate around, and measure online media and presentation content. Founded in 2010 by a team of online media pioneers led by ZDNet Founder Michael Kolowich, KnowledgeVision is majority backed by GrandBanks Capital and Rand Capital.
Contacts
OpenExchange:
Emilia Tapsall
investorrelations@openexc.com
