Live Ventures (LIVE) Closes $60M Acquisition of Vintage Stock

Live Ventures Incorporated (Nasdaq: LIVE) ("Live Ventures" or the "Company"), a diversified holding company, today announced it has acquired 100% of the outstanding stock of entertainment retailer, Vintage Stock, Inc., in a cash and debt transaction valued at approximately $60M. The acquisition was financed by Texas Capital Bank (NASDAQ: TCBI) and Capitala Group (NASDAQ: CPTA). Live Ventures did not issue any stock or convertible securities in connection with this transaction. As a result of this highly accretive acquisition, management expects Live Ventures' assets to increase to over $100M, annual sales to increase to $160M and net income to increase to $20M ($1.21 per share).

Vintage Stock, along with its sub-brands, VStock, Movie Trading Company, and EntertainMart, is a Joplin, Missouri-based retail chain that buys, sells and trades entertainment products. Its product offerings include movies, music, video games for multiple consoles, as well as books, trading and game cards and collectables, including comic books, movie memorabilia, toys and novelties. The company operates 57 stores across 10 states and employs about 900 people. The acquisition increases Live Ventures' total employee count to about 1,200.

"Vintage Stock has proven quarter after quarter that it matches precisely our criteria for acquisition: very consistent and stable earnings over the past several years, an easy to understand business model, and a stellar management team. As a result of this highly accretive acquisition, we expect our financials to continue to improve significantly. This acquisition marks $100M in deals since we changed LiveDeal into a diversified holding company just last year," said Jon Isaac, CEO of Live Ventures Incorporated. "Vintage Stock's CEO, Rodney Spriggs, is truly a one-of-a-kind executive who has achieved tremendous success creating a unique and highly-profitable business model and expanding it systematically since the company's humble beginnings in 1980 as a used bookstore. We are proud to welcome Vintage Stock and its approximately 900 employees to the Live Ventures family."

In its most recent audited report, Vintage Stock generated approximately $13.5M (audited) in pre-tax income, while achieving up to an 80 percent gross profit margin on some of its products. Management expects 2017 to be even better as a result of new store openings. The current management team, led by Mr. Spriggs, will remain in place.

"Joining the Live Ventures family is a tremendous opportunity to continue to expand on a business model that has brought us tremendous success thus far, while enjoying the additional support of a larger conglomerate to support our growth," said Mr. Spriggs. "We look forward to our continued mutual success."

The acquisition was financed by Capitala Group, a Charlotte-based provider of capital to lower and traditional middle-market companies, and Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: TCBI), the parent company of Texas Capital Bank, a $2.6 Billion bank recognized as one of Forbes Best Banks in America.

Keith Cargill, President and CEO of Texas Capital Bank said: "We are excited about the future of our client, Live Ventures, and the opportunity to serve it with our extraordinary people, culture and financial strength."

"Through Capitala Group's unique structuring capabilities, we are able to offer creative financing solutions to our partners," said Joe Alala, Chairman and CEO of Capitala Group. "We are pleased to have led the financing for this transaction, and we're excited to have Live Ventures as a new partner."

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