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Telefonica and Liberty Global announce CEO and CFO for proposed UK joint venture between O2 and Virgin Media

Lutz Schüler to be appointed Chief Executive Officer and Patricia Cobian to be appointed Chief Financial Officer of the combined company upon completion of the transaction

MADRID, Spain and DENVER, Colorado–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Liberty Global and Telefonica today announced their intention to appoint Lutz Schüler as Chief Executive Officer and Patricia Cobian as Chief Financial Officer of the proposed 50-50 joint venture combining Virgin Media and O2. The merger is subject to approval by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK.

Lutz Schüler joined Virgin Media in 2018 as Chief Operating Officer and has been CEO at Virgin Media since June 2019. Prior to that, Schüler spent more than seven years as CEO of Unitymedia GmbH, Liberty Global’s highly successful German operation, which was sold to Vodafone in 2018. During his tenure at Virgin Media he has transformed business performance with the acceleration of 1 Gig broadband, the rollout of new entertainment and smart WiFi services and the market’s first fixed-mobile bundles. Schüler is a 27-year veteran of the telecoms industry, beginning his career at T-Mobile Deutschland in 1994 and later serving in various senior management roles, including Chief Operating Officer with Telefonica’s O2 German subsidiary from 1998 to 2010.

Patricia Cobian is currently Chief Financial Officer for O2, a position she has held since 2016. During a 15-year career with Telefonica she has held a number of senior management positions. Before taking on her current role, Cobian was Director for Business Development in Telefonica Europe, where she led strategy, marketing innovation and played a key role in a number of partnerships, spectrum auctions, infrastructure sharing deals and key acquisitions and divestitures in the region. She also led the post-merger integration planning of Telefonica Deutschland with ePlus. Before joining Telefonica, Cobian was a consultant with the TMT and Corporate Finance practices of McKinsey & Company.

Mike Fries, CEO of Liberty Global, and José Maria Alvarez-Pallete Lopez, CEO of Telefonica, commented: “We are about to embark on an exciting new chapter for Virgin Media and O2, and Lutz and Patricia are the right leaders to deliver on our ambition to create the UK’s national connectivity champion. Together they will build a strong, diverse and dynamic team that will bring more choice, more value and world-class innovation to over 46 million fixed and mobile customers and the broader consumer and enterprise market.”

They continued: “Lutz is a unique talent and a perfect fit for the new combined company. He has extensive experience in fixed and mobile and a fantastic track record at both Liberty and Telefonica driving transformation and growth. Together, Virgin Media and O2 will need to quickly capitalize on strategic opportunities in network expansion, digitalization, convergence, 5G and video – all areas where Lutz has a strong background and a clear vision. We couldn’t have a better leader steering us through these critical and exciting times.”

Lutz Schüler, commenting on his upcoming role, said: “I’m both humbled and proud to be appointed CEO of this powerful combination between Virgin Media and O2, and I’m excited that we are getting closer to realizing our vision of creating a true connectivity champion in the UK. I have enormous respect for Mark and appreciate the partnership we’ve developed as we prepare both businesses to come together as one and I’m very enthusiastic about working with Patricia as CFO. She is an extremely talented leader and together we will build a strong, high performing team.”

José Maria Alvarez-Pallete Lopez, CEO of Telefonica, added: “I would like to place on record my appreciation for the exceptional leadership of Mark Evans, the current CEO of O2. Since his appointment in 2016, the business has established itself as the UK’s number one network by scale and customer satisfaction and delivered five consecutive years of profit growth. Valuation grew by £3bn, making this deal possible. He has also played an instrumental role for the Telefónica Group and our strategy. Mark will remain in his post until completion.”

Mark Evans said: “I am proud to have served Telefonica, O2, its employees and customers, especially as CEO over the last five years, and have enjoyed the journey immensely. It has been both a personal and professional honour to have established O2 as the UK’s number one mobile network and most compelling brand. I’m confident the joint venture I helped bring to the table will come to fruition and go on to establish itself as the national connectivity champion the UK deserves. In Liberty Global, Telefonica has found a first-class partner, and together their brand portfolio and their remarkable employees have an exciting future ahead.”

Liberty Global and Telefonica announced the joint venture last May, bringing together Virgin Media, the U.K.’s fastest broadband network, and O2, the country’s largest and most admired mobile platform. The combination will create a stronger fixed and mobile competitor in the U.K. market, supporting the expansion of Virgin Media’s giga-ready network and O2’s 5G mobile deployment for the benefit of consumers, businesses and the public sector. The joint venture is expected to deliver substantial synergies valued of more than £6 billion on a net present value basis after integration costs and will create a nationwide integrated communications provider with £11 billion of revenue.

To find out more and to follow our progress, visit www.nationalconnectivitychampion.co.uk.

About Telefonica

Telefónica is one the largest telecommunications service providers in the world. The company offers fixed and mobile connectivity as well as a wide range of digital services for residential and business customers. With 344 million customers, Telefónica operates in Europe and Latin America. Telefónica is a 100% listed company and its shares are traded on the Spanish Stock Market and on those in New York and Lima.

About Liberty Global

Liberty Global (NASDAQ: LBTYA, LBTYB and LBTYK) is one of the world’s leading converged video, broadband and communications companies, with operations in seven European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Telenet, UPC, the combined Sunrise UPC, as well as VodafoneZiggo, which is owned through a 50/50 joint venture. Our substantial scale and commitment to innovation enable us to invest in the infrastructure and digital platforms that empower our customers to make the most of the digital revolution.

Liberty Global delivers market-leading products through next-generation networks that connect customers subscribing to 49 million broadband, video, fixed and mobile telephony services across our brands. We also have significant investments in ITV, All3Media, ITI Neovision, LionsGate, the Formula E racing series and several regional sports networks. For more information, please visit www.libertyglobal.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210406006084/en/

Enquiries:

Telefonica

Investor Relations

Telephone +34 91 482 87 00

Isabel Beltrán ([email protected])

Adrián Zunzunegui ([email protected])

Media Relations

Telephone +34 91 482 3628

Alejandro Kowalski ([email protected])

Liberty Global

Investor Relations

Max Adkins +44 78 1795 9705

Stefan Halters +44 20 8483 6211

Corporate Communications

Molly Bruce +1 303 220 4202

Matt Beake +44 20 8483 6428

KEYWORDS: Spain North America United States United Kingdom Europe Colorado

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Technology Mobile/Wireless Audio/Video Telecommunications

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Posted on April 6, 2021 4:08 pm

QAD Enhances Inventory and Supply Chain Agility with Acquisition of Foreign-Trade Zone Corporation

QAD Enhances Inventory and Supply Chain Agility with Acquisition of Foreign-Trade Zone Corporation

— Supports QAD’s Connected Supply Chain by removing complexities and costs for customers operating across national borders —

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–QAD Inc. (Nasdaq: QADA) (Nasdaq: QADB), a leading provider of flexible, cloud-based enterprise software and services for global manufacturing companies, today announced it has acquired Foreign-Trade Zone Corporation (FTZ Corp.), a leading provider of cloud-based Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) software and consulting services based in Mobile, Alabama. QAD expects to integrate FTZ Corp. into QAD Precision, the company’s global trade and transportation division.

The transaction is not expected to have an immediate, material impact on QAD’s financial results. The addition of FTZ Corp. is expected to expand QAD’s addressable market, drive additional cloud growth within its existing customer base, and strengthen its trade and transportation solutions.

“We are very pleased to be adding FTZ Corp. and its SmartZone solution to our company,” said QAD CEO Anton Chilton. “Supply chain flexibility is increasingly important in today’s environment, requiring manufacturers to quickly adapt to a rapidly changing market. Foreign-Trade Zones have long been an important facilitator of inventory management and supply chain agility, and our ability to help customers take full advantage of FTZs, while saving them time and money, is an important part of providing a full end-to-end solution, from planning to execution.”

“The FTZ Corp. team adds considerable breadth and depth of expertise, with leaders who pioneered innovative enhancements and are well known by U.S. Customs having drafted language for the Trade Development Act of 2000. Simplifying duty management while improving transportation execution and trade compliance is a unique differentiator for us,” said Corey Rhodes, President of QAD Precision. “As the industry’s most robust turn-key solution, from grantee application and audit support through Weekly Entry processing, SmartZone complements QAD Precision’s offering and creates a one stop shop for all your shipping, tax, and compliance needs.”

“Joining the QAD team is a win for our customers and for our company,” said Craig Pool, FTZ Corp. Co-Founder. “By uniting with a premier software company who has a longstanding tradition of serving its customers and prioritizing global transportation and trade services in markets similar to ours, we will be better positioned to provide current and new customers with a comprehensive solution that helps them successfully navigate today’s supply chain requirements.”

FTZ Corp. was founded more than 20 years ago to provide assistance with FTZ projects across the United States. Since that time, the company has grown into a best-of-breed, highly-specialized cloud-based software and consulting business. FTZ Corp. has completed more than 1,000 projects for well-known global businesses including Catalent Pharma, Cummins Inc., Halliburton, Sanden USA, Sub-Zero Group, Inc., Thyssenkrupp Presta, and United Furniture, among others.

FTZ Corp. offers solutions for every aspect of the Foreign-Trade Zones program, including feasibility studies, FTZ Board requests and applications, activations with Customs and Border Protection, FTZ software, and managed FTZ operations.

About QAD – Enabling the Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprise

QAD Inc. is a leading provider of adaptive, cloud-based enterprise software and services for global manufacturing companies. Global manufacturers face ever-increasing disruption caused by technology-driven innovation and changing consumer preferences. In order to survive and thrive, manufacturers must be able to innovate and change business models at unprecedented rates of speed. QAD calls these companies Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprises. QAD solutions help customers in the automotive, life sciences, consumer products, food and beverage, high tech and industrial manufacturing industries rapidly adapt to change and innovate for competitive advantage.

Founded in 1979 and headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, QAD has 30 offices globally. Over 2,000 manufacturing companies have deployed QAD solutions including enterprise resource planning (ERP), demand and supply chain planning (DSCP), global trade and transportation execution (GTTE) and quality management system (QMS) to become an Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprise. To learn more, visit www.qad.com or call +1 805-566-6100. Find us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

“QAD” is a registered trademark of QAD Inc. All other products or company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Note to Investors: This press release contains certain forward-looking statements made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding projections of revenue, income and loss, capital expenditures, plans and objectives of management regarding the company’s business, future economic performance or any of the assumptions underlying or relating to any of the foregoing. Forward-looking statements are based on the company’s current expectations. Words such as “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “could,” “will likely result,” “estimates,” “intends,” “may,” “projects,” “should,” “would,” “might,” “plan” and variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to: risks associated with the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) pandemic or other catastrophic events that may harm our business; adverse economic, market or geo-political conditions that may disrupt our business; our cloud service offerings, such as defects and disruptions in our services, our ability to properly manage our cloud service offerings, our reliance on third-party hosting and other service providers, and our exposure to liability and loss from security breaches; demand for the company’s products, including cloud service, licenses, services and maintenance; pressure to make concessions on our pricing and changes in our pricing models; protection of our intellectual property; dependence on third-party suppliers and other third-party relationships, such as sales, services and marketing channels; changes in our revenue, earnings, operating expenses and margins; the reliability of our financial forecasts and estimates of the costs and benefits of transactions; the ability to leverage changes in technology; defects in our software products and services; third-party opinions about the company; competition in our industry; the ability to recruit and retain key personnel; delays in sales; timely and effective integration of newly acquired businesses; economic conditions in our vertical markets and worldwide; exchange rate fluctuations; and the global political environment. For a more detailed description of the risk factors associated with the company and factors that may affect our forward-looking statements, please refer to the company’s latest Annual Report on Form 10-K and, in particular, the section entitled “Risk Factors” therein, and in other periodic reports the company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission thereafter. Management does not undertake to update these forward-looking statements except as required by law.

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Kara Bellamy

Chief Accounting Officer

805.566.6100

[email protected]

Laurie Berman

PondelWilkinson Inc.

310.279.5980

[email protected]

KEYWORDS: California Alabama United States North America

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Software Engineering Technology Supply Chain Management Logistics/Supply Chain Management Transport Manufacturing Retail

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Amundi US Declares Monthly Distributions for Pioneer Closed-end Funds

BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Amundi US today announced the declaration of dividends for five Pioneer closed-end funds for April 2021.

Ex Date:			April 16, 2021
Record Date:			April 19, 2021
Payable:			April 30, 2021

Ticker		Taxable Funds		Distribution Per Share		Change From Previous Month
HNW		Pioneer Diversified High Income Trust		$0.1100		–
PHD		Pioneer Floating Rate Trust		$0.0625		–
PHT		Pioneer High Income Trust		$0.0725		–
Ticker		Tax-Exempt Funds		Distribution Per Share		Change From Previous Month
MAV		Pioneer Municipal High Income Advantage Trust		$0.0525		–
MHI		Pioneer Municipal High Income Trust		$0.0525		–

		Market Price		Market Price Distribution Rate		NAV		NAV Distribution Rate
Pioneer Diversified High Income Trust		$14.71		8.97%		$15.56		8.48%
Pioneer Floating Rate Trust		$11.37		6.60%		$11.67		6.43%
Pioneer High Income Trust		$9.32		9.33%		$9.63		9.03%
Pioneer Municipal High Income Advantage Trust		$11.92		5.29%		$12.19		5.17%
Pioneer Municipal High Income Trust		$12.47		5.05%		$12.99		4.85%

If any Fund estimates that any portion of its distribution may be comprised of amounts from sources other than net investment income, the Fund will provide shareholders a separate written notice. These notices are provided for informational purposes only, and should not be used for tax reporting purposes. The final determination of tax characteristics of each Fund’s distributions will occur after the end of its fiscal year, at which time it will be reported to shareholders. A return of capital is not a distribution of income or capital gains from the Fund, does not necessarily reflect the Fund’s investment performance, and should not be considered “yield” or “income.”

The closing market price and NAV are based on data as of April 5, 2021. The Market Price Distribution Rate is calculated by dividing the latest declared monthly distribution per share (annualized) by the market price. The NAV Distribution Rate is calculated by dividing the latest declared monthly distribution per share (annualized) by the NAV per share.

The funds are closed-end investment companies. Four of these funds trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the following symbols: MHI, MAV, PHT, and PHD. HNW trades on the NYSEAMER.

Keep in mind, distribution rates are not guaranteed. A fund’s distribution rate may be affected by numerous factors, including changes in actual or projected investment income, the level of undistributed net investment income, if any, and other factors. Shareholders should not draw any conclusions about a fund’s investment performance based on a fund’s current distributions. Closed-end funds, unlike open-end funds, are not continuously offered. Once issued, common shares of closed-end funds are bought and sold in the open market through a stock exchange and frequently trade at prices lower than their net asset value. Net Asset Value (NAV) is total assets less total liabilities divided by the number of common shares outstanding. For performance data on Amundi US’ closed-end funds, please call 800-225-6292 or visit our closed-end pricing page.

About Amundi US

Amundi US is the US business of Amundi, Europe’s largest asset manager by assets under management and ranked among the ten largest globally^[1]. Boston is one of Amundi’s six main global investment hubs^[2] and offers a broad range of fixed-income, equity, and multi-asset investment solutions in close partnership with wealth management firms, distribution platforms, and institutional investors across the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.

With our financial and extra-financial research capabilities and long-standing commitment to responsible investment, Amundi is a key player in the asset management landscape. Amundi clients benefit from the expertise and advice of 4,500 employees in nearly 40 countries. A subsidiary of the Crédit Agricole group and listed on the Paris stock exchange, Amundi currently manages approximately $2.1 trillion of assets^[3].

Amundi, a Trusted Partner, working every day in the interest of our clients and society

www.amundi.com/us

Follow us on linkedin.com/company/amundi-us/ and twitter.com/amundi_us.

1. Source: IPE “Top 500 Asset Managers” published in June 2020, based on assets under management as of 12/31/2019

2. Boston, Dublin, London, Milan, Paris, and Tokyo

3. Amundi data as of 12/31/2020

Amundi Distributor US, Inc., Member SIPC

(Formerly Amundi Pioneer Distributor, Inc.)

60 State Street, Boston, MA 02109

©2021 Amundi Asset Management US

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210406006030/en/

Shareholder Inquiries: Please contact your financial advisor or visit www.amundi.com/us.

Broker/Advisor Inquiries Please Contact: 800-622-9876

Media Inquiries Please Contact: Geoff Smith, 617-504-8520

KEYWORDS: Massachusetts United States North America

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Banking Professional Services

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Marchex Announces New Chief Financial Officer and Executive Officer Evolution

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Marchex (NASDAQ: MCHX), a leading conversational analytics and solutions company that connects the voice of the customer to your business, today announced that it has promoted Leila Kirske to Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. In this role, Kirske will lead Marchex’s finance and administrative organizations. Michael Arends who previously served as Marchex CFO, will continue in his role as Co-CEO of Marchex.

Prior to serving as Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration at Marchex, Ms. Kirske most recently was the CFO at 98point.6, Inc., an on-demand digital primary care service, where she led all aspects of the company’s financial operations. Kirske has served as a finance leader for more than 25 years, including as the CFO for other global technology companies such as Tune Inc., a cloud-based SaaS affiliate marketing platform and Bsquare, Inc., a software provider for intelligent devices and systems. Kirske began her career in audit at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

“I am pleased to have Leila join our executive team and to have her lead our finance and administrative organizations,” said Russell Horowitz, Marchex Executive Chairman. “Mike Arends is evolving his duties to full-time Co-CEO in order to support our strategic evolution as a company and increase our ability to take advantage of the tremendous opportunity in the conversational analytics and solutions market. 2021 is an important year for Marchex, as our expanding AI capabilities are fueling product growth and allowing us to solve an increasing array of mission critical problems for our customers and prospects.”

“I am excited to be part of Marchex’s leadership team and to have the opportunity to more significantly contribute to our overall organizational and strategic efforts,” said Kirske. “There is a significant untapped opportunity to use AI to help businesses grow through delivering high quality customer experiences. I believe Marchex is very well positioned to take advantage of its emerging AI-driven conversation analytics and solutions to continue to grow and expand our base of world-class customers.”

“We are very pleased to promote Leila to our executive team,” said Michael Arends, Co-CEO. “Leila’s demonstrated track record in leading successful business transformation initiatives, developing organizational strategy, and optimizing financial and operational management processes will prove valuable as Marchex continues to evolve and execute on our leadership opportunity in the conversational analytics and sales engagement solutions markets.”

About Marchex

Marchex understands the best customers are those who call your company – they convert faster, buy more, and churn less. Marchex provides solutions that help companies drive more calls, understand what happens on those calls, and convert more of those callers into customers. Our actionable intelligence strengthens the connection between companies and their customers, bridging the physical and digital world, to help brands maximize their marketing investments and operating efficiencies to acquire the best customers.

Please visit http://www.marchex.com, www.marchex.com/blog or @marchex on Twitter (Twitter.com/Marchex), where Marchex discloses material information from time to time about the company, its financial information, and its business.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210406005997/en/

Marchex, Inc.

Investor Relations

Trevor Caldwell, 206-331-3600

[email protected]

KEYWORDS: United States North America Washington

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Software Technology Telecommunications

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