Data Firm Goes Public by Reverse Merger

Westlake Village data firm BIGtoken announced it has gone public through a reverse merger with Force Protection Video Equipment Corp., a North Carolina company that sells video and audio equipment to police units.BIGtoken’s parent company, SRAX Inc., a fintech firm publicly traded on the Nasdaq, entered a share exchange agreement in September with Force Protection, which trades on the over-the-counter markets for pennies a share. Force Protection issued to SRAX more than 159 billion shares of common stock in exchange for all of BIGtoken’s issued and outstanding shares, plus promissory notes valued around $850,000. Force Protection will be renamed BIGtoken Inc. Cryptocurrency pioneer and digital media veteran Lou Kerner was hired earlier this month to lead the resulting company as chief executive. The company hasn’t indicated if or how it will change its stock ticker. The BIGtoken platform gives users control over their personal data. It asks users to submit data by completing surveys, checking into locations and connecting social media accounts, then sorts them into anonymous advertising groups. When advertisers buy access to the groups, BIGtoken pays the users with a portion of the sales revenue. Launched globally in February 2019, BIGtoken has more than 15 million registered users. The app is available for download on Apple’s App Store and Google Play. When Kerner became CEO earlier this month, he said: “As the world continues to move to ensure greater internet privacy for consumers, BIGtoken is well-positioned to help brands, media companies, research organizations, and political campaigns efficiently reach consumers via compliant ad targeting and surveys. I further believe BIGtoken will greatly benefit by fully embracing crypto as an alternative reward for our growing consumer base.”