8i Enterprises Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: JFK) (“JFK” or “8i”), a special purpose acquisition company, today announced that it has entered into a definitive share exchange agreement with Diginex Limited (“Diginex” or the “Company”), a global blockchain financial services and technology company headquartered in Hong Kong. Upon completion of the transaction, Diginex is anticipated to have an initial enterprise value of approximately $276 million^[1].

Headquartered in Hong Kong with a presence in Tokyo, London, Boston, Dubai, Lausanne and Berlin, Diginex provides an ecosystem to enable the broader adoption of digital assets across financial markets through three interlocking pillars: (i) Advisory – capital markets origination and distribution of securities via digital assets; and broader blockchain solutions for corporate and financial industry institutions, as well as governments (ii) Markets – a full infrastructure for digital assets exchange trading and custody, and (iii) Asset Management – providing an accessible and credible on-ramp into digital assets for institutional allocators of capital. In furtherance of its focus on global collaboration, Diginex is developing partnerships with institutional investors, corporations, and governments to improve the efficiency and security of business processes while driving institutional adoption of blockchain technologies and the regulated use of digital assets.

James Tan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of JFK, commented, “The execution of the share exchange with Diginex comes as the need for increased regulation, transparency, and traceability around the growing use of digital assets has never been greater. After a thorough review of multiple opportunities in this industry, we have determined Diginex is the trusted operator of choice with the advanced technology infrastructure necessary to meet the standards of institutional investors and partners. With their thoughtful ecosystem approach, we believe Diginex is well-positioned to continue unlocking opportunities and driving institutional adoption of blockchain technologies.”

Richard Byworth, Chief Executive Officer at Diginex, said, “Diginex has been built to provide the financial services infrastructure required to take digital assets and blockchain technology to the next level of adoption by institutional investors and corporations globally. We believe that this exciting transaction will enhance our broader market visibility as we further roll out our global platform including our exchange infrastructure, product offering, licenses and market expansion into key geographies around the world.”

Miles Pelham, Chairman of Diginex, added, “Upon the completion of this transaction, as a publicly-listed Nasdaq company, Diginex will continue to pursue its vision of leveraging blockchain technology for both social good and the disruption of financial intermediaries. Our seasoned and diverse team of financial service professionals, compliance experts, and technologists, are dedicated to regulatory compliance and transparency, standards which are essential to furthering our goal of growing the global propagation of digital assets.”

Transaction Details

Under the terms of the agreement, JFK will acquire Diginex, with JFK continuing as the listed company on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Upon closing, JFK will change its name to “Diginex Limited”. At the effective time of the share exchange, Diginex’s shareholders will receive 20 million ordinary shares of JFK, valued at $10.00 per share, of which two million ordinary shares will be held in escrow for 12 months after closing of the transaction to satisfy potential indemnification claims under the terms of the agreement. In addition, Diginex shareholders will be entitled to receive earn-out consideration of an additional five million JFK ordinary shares, subject to Diginex achieving share price thresholds of $15, $20, and $30 over the next three years as set forth in the agreement. All options held by Diginex option holders under its current employee share option plan, whether vested or unvested, will automatically be cancelled as of the closing of the transaction and in exchange for the cancelled options and upon payment of the exercise price of the options, the option holders will receive 4.2 million ordinary shares of JFK, in the aggregate, which will be subject to lock-up agreements for a period of fifteen (15) months following closing of the transaction, and shall be released in three (3) equal installments over a period of six (6) months following the expiration of such lock-up period.

The Board of directors of JFK at closing will consist of seven directors, to be designated by the Diginex shareholders.

The closing conditions include, among others, the approval of the transaction as a whole by JFK’s existing shareholders and the aggregate dollar amount of the redemptions does not cause the balance of JFK’s trust account (less any fees and costs relating the transaction) to be an amount less than $5,000,001.

Chardan is acting as a financial advisor to JFK, and Loeb and Loeb LLP is acting as legal counsel to JFK. Winston & Strawn LLP is acting as legal counsel to Diginex.

The description of the transaction contained herein is only a summary and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the definitive agreement relating to the transaction, a copy of which will be filed by JFK with the SEC as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K.

SOURCE 8i Enterprises Acquisition Corp.