GAITHERSBURG, MD, April 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RealBiz Media Group, Inc. (OTCQB: RBIZ), currently operating as Verus Foods (the “Company”), is providing this corporate update in order to give more current information to investors following the filing of the Company’s 10-K for fiscal 2017 (year ended October 31st, 2017). The Company is happy to report that the SEC has approved the spin-off of the NestBuilder Real Estate Division and set a record date of April 25, 2018 and a distribution date of May 18, 2018. Current RealBiz (RBIZ) shareholders will receive one (1) share of NestBuilder common stock for each three hundred (300) shares of RealBiz.
Commenting on our 10-K filing for the recently completed fiscal year, to call 2017 a “difficult” year would be an understatement, as the Company spent nearly its entire first 12 months in operation under the cloud of lawsuits connected to the former RealBiz business. However, even under this unexpected environment, the Verus Foods Division was able to make significant headway in positioning itself for the future. Some highlights from 2017 include:
- Establishing a regional headquarters in Dubai along with enough cold-storage and other infrastructure to support significant growth in the region
- The creation of a Singapore-based Division to address opportunities in the Asian markets
- The signing of a major branded product category, via the Disney-branded juice deal in the UAE and Oman
- Resolution of the legacy RealBiz lawsuits
- Expanding operations to cover the four key sales categories in our business -- wholesale, van, retail and HORECA (hotel, restaurant, & cafeteria)
For investors, May of 2018 should be considered the symbolic restart for Verus in conjunction with the expected spin-off, which will be followed closely by a name (and symbol change) from RealBiz Media Group to Verus Foods.
Thus far in 2018, the following highlights are worth noting:
- Our cost structure improved, due to shifting part of our financial structure to our Dubai entity
- The Company continues to receive interest from additional suppliers and brands that have a desire to begin shipping into Middle Eastern and North African markets
- Verus Foods enters 2018 with an achievable backlog of $109M, without counting additional traction from existing customers
In response to questions from shareholders, the Company can confirm that it is in late-stage discussions with multiple new, traditional financing sources, though the outcome of those talks is not yet certain. The current backlog cannot be fulfilled until financing improves, so all backlog figures should be considered achievable goals, but not projections of revenue under the Company’s current capital structure. Verus intends to provide specific forward-looking revenue projections when it finalizes some form of working capital funding.
“We set a goal at the beginning of 2017 to create an infrastructure capable of supporting a large-scale food business in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and surrounding regions during our first year in business,” explained Verus CEO Anshu Bhatnagar. “Despite being saddled with costly RealBiz-related legacy litigation that blocked our ability to attain funding, we still managed to build that infrastructure at minimal cost. Our goal was to end 2017 with operations covering the four key sales categories in our business -- wholesale, van, retail and HORECA (hotel, restaurant, & cafeteria) – and we achieved that goal. Given the challenges, our financial performance showed none of this organizational progress, but investors should understand that our company is built and ready to support significant and rapid growth once we have the right capital in place. In that regard, funding is obviously our number one priority and our daily focus.”
In addition to traditional forms of third-party working capital financing, the Company is also discussing letter of credit (LOC) financing with certain key suppliers. Updates on topics such as share count, debt, and other corporate metrics will coincide with the upcoming Fiscal 2018 Q1 report.
About RealBiz Media Group, Inc.
RealBiz Media Group, Inc. consists of two business segments: an international food subsidiary (Verus Foods) that sells products to customers worldwide; and a real estate digital media and technology company. RealBiz Media Group, Inc. (OTCQB: RBIZ) trades on the OTCQB venture stage marketplace for early stage and developing U.S. and international companies. Investors can find Real-Time quotes and market information for the company on www.otcmarkets.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
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