Ballantyne Strong Creates Committee to Evaluate GreenFirst Rights

Charlotte, NC, July 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ballantyne Strong, Inc. (NYSE American: BTN) (“Ballantyne Strong” or the “Company”) today announced that it has designated a special committee of the independent members of its Board of Directors to evaluate actions to be taken with respect to the rights offering currently being conducted by GreenFirst Forest Products Inc. (TSX: GFP) (“GreenFirst”), one of Ballantyne Strong’s holdings.

The special committee, which consists of the four independent members of the Board of Directors, will determine the extent to which Ballantyne Strong will sell rights and /or exercise additional rights beyond the amount it has previously committed to exercise. Kyle Cerminara, Chairman of Ballantyne Strong’s Board of Directors, is also a member of GreenFirst’s board of directors, and has recused himself from this process.

On June 29, 2021, GreenFirst filed a preliminary prospectus to conduct a backstopped rights offering to finance a portion of the purchase price for its previously announced acquisition of a portfolio of forest and paper product assets. GreenFirst shareholders received three rights for each common share held on the record date for the rights offering, with each right entitling the holder to subscribe for a subscription receipt at a price of $1.50 per subscription receipt, with each subscription receipt entitling the holder thereof to receive an additional common share of GreenFirst for no additional consideration at closing. Ballantyne Strong currently holds approximately 7.0 million common shares in GreenFirst, which resulted in the receipt of approximately 21.1 million rights in the rights offering. On April 12, 2021, Ballantyne Strong announced that it had entered a commitment letter with GreenFirst agreeing to exercise a minimum of approximately US$1.6 million in the rights offering.

No assurances can be given regarding the Company’s intended plan or actions or with regard to the Company’s ability to sell any rights or with regard to the future performance of any shares acquired in connection with an exercise of the rights. The Company does not intend to disclose developments regarding these matters unless and until the special committee of its Board of Directors determines there is a need to update the market.

About Ballantyne Strong, Inc.

Ballantyne Strong, Inc. (https://ballantynestrong.com/) is a diversified holding company with operations and holdings across a broad range of industries. The Company’s Strong Entertainment segment includes the largest premium screen supplier in the U.S. and also provides technical support services and other related products and services to the cinema exhibition industry, theme parks and other entertainment-related markets. Ballantyne Strong holds a $13 million preferred stake along with Google Ventures in privately held Firefly Systems, Inc., which is rolling out a digital mobile advertising network on rideshare and taxi fleets. Finally, the Company holds an approximately 19% ownership position in GreenFirst, and an approximately 21% ownership position in FG Financial Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: FGF), a reinsurance and investment management holding company focused on opportunistic collateralized and loss capped reinsurance, while allocating capital to SPAC and SPAC sponsor-related businesses.

Forward-Looking Statements

In addition to the historical information included herein, this press release includes forward-looking statements, such as management’s expectations regarding future sales, the impact, length and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the adequacy of the actions taken in response to the pandemic, the Company’s expected actions with respect to the GreenFirst rights offering, all of which involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those discussed in the “Risk Factors” section contained in Item 1A in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on March 10, 2021, as supplemented by the Company’s Amendment No. 1 on Form 10-K/A filed with the SEC on April 28, 2021, the Company’s subsequent filings with the SEC, and the following risks and uncertainties: the negative impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has already had, and may continue to have, on the Company’s business and financial condition; the Company’s ability to maintain and expand its revenue streams to compensate for the lower demand for the Company’s digital cinema products and installation services; potential interruptions of supplier relationships or higher prices charged by suppliers; the Company’s ability to successfully compete and introduce enhancements and new features that achieve market acceptance and that keep pace with technological developments; the Company’s ability to successfully execute its capital allocation strategy or achieve the returns it expects from these holdingst; the Company’s ability to maintain its brand and reputation and retain or replace its significant customers; challenges associated with the Company’s long sales cycles; the impact of a challenging global economic environment or a downturn in the markets (such as the current economic disruption and market volatility generated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic); economic and political risks of selling products in foreign countries (including tariffs); risks of non-compliance with U.S. and foreign laws and regulations, potential sales tax collections and claims for uncollected amounts; cybersecurity risks and risks of damage and interruptions of information technology systems; the Company’s ability to retain key members of management and successfully integrate new executives; the Company’s ability to complete acquisitions, strategic investments, entry into new lines of business, divestitures, mergers or other transactions on acceptable terms, or at all; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company or its holdings; the Company’s ability to utilize or assert its intellectual property rights, the impact of natural disasters and other catastrophic events (such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic); the adequacy of insurance; the impact of having a controlling stockholder and vulnerability to fluctuation in the Company’s stock price. Given the risks and uncertainties, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement and should recognize that the statements are predictions of future results which may not occur as anticipated. Many of the risks listed above have been, and may further be, exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, its impact on the cinema and entertainment industry, and the worsening economic environment. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements and from historical results, due to the risks and uncertainties described herein, as well as others not now anticipated. New risk factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors, nor can it assess the impact of all such factors on the Company’s business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Except where required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update, withdraw or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect actual results or changes in factors or assumptions affecting such forward-looking statements.

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