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Pet Insurance and the Pandemic

YourUpdateTV

A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://youtu.be/9KdDYhsia2A Amid the pandemic last year, more than 2 million dogs and cats were adopted from shelters. Now, as employees across the U.S. anticipate a potential return to in-person work, pet parents have some concerns about how the transition may impact both their animals’ and their own well-being. In fact, MetLife’s new Pet Parent Pulse Survey found that three in four (74 percent) working pet parents are considering how pet care during this time may impact their finances, while nearly all (95 percent) anticipate that a possible transition back to the office will cause a change in their pet’s health or routine. If you are a working pet parent, what do you need to know and prepare for during this time? “It may be as simple as making some changes at home, like introducing a crate or a gate to keep your pet safe and healthy. Alternatively, maybe pet care or ‘doggy daycare’ services make sense for you,” said Katie Blakeley, vice president and head of pet insurance, MetLife. “Many pet parents are also leaning on their employers to help them navigate the return to office and how it may effect their furry family members. For example, introducing pet health insurance into a voluntary benefit plan is becoming a popular option for many working pet parents.” For more information visit: metlife.com/insurance/pet-insurance About MetLife: MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates ("MetLife"), is one of the world's leading financial services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to help its individual and institutional customers navigate their changing world. Founded in 1868, MetLife has operations in more than 40 countries and holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com. YourUpdateTV: YourUpdateTV is a social media video portal for organizations to share their content. It includes separate channels for Health and Wellness, Lifestyle, Media and Entertainment, Money and Finance, Social Responsibility, Sports and Technology. Contact Details YourUpdateTV +1 212-736-2727 yourupdatetv@gmail.com

September 01, 2021 01:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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NORTH SIXTH GROUP ACQUIRES OWNERSHIP INTEREST IN ASCOLI FOOTBALL CLUB

North Sixth Group

North Sixth Group today announced it has acquired an ownership interest in Italian professional football club Ascoli Calcio 1898 FC (Ascoli FC) in partnership with Massimo Pulcinelli and Bricofer S.p.A, the leading retailer in the home goods and DIY sector in Italy. Founded in 1898, Ascoli boasts a rich tradition, having competed in Serie A and Serie B respectively for 16 and 25 seasons. North Sixth Group will co-own the club alongside Massimo Pulcinelli and family. The Pulcinelli family founded Bricofer in 1979, which has grown to become one of the largest retail chains in Europe with more than 500 million Euro in annual revenues and 124 locations throughout Italy. North Sixth Group will control international market operations and will share governance and decision-making rights with Pulcinelli in coordination with the club’s Board of Directors. "It is an honor to own and operate a club that was founded nearly 125 years ago with the tradition, history and following of Ascoli,” said Matt Rizzetta, Chairman of North Sixth Group. “We would like to thank the Pulcinelli family, who have worked tirelessly and made numerous sacrifices during a challenging economic period to put Ascoli in a position for future growth. We look forward to partnering with Massimo and his family to build a special future for the Picchi fans.” Joining North Sixth Group as owners are a variety of institutional and strategic investors, including former Univision CEO Vince Sadusky; engineer, entrepreneur, investor, Super Bowl champion and NFL all-pro defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh; KM Sports Ventures, a Los Angeles-based sports investment fund founded by media industry entrepreneur Mike Pollack; and Wavemaker Partners, a venture capital firm based in Los Angeles and Singapore which has raised over $650 million across multiple funds and special purpose vehicles. “We have a special connection and shared global vision with Matt and his team at North Sixth Group,” said Massimo Pulcinelli, Ascoli FC owner and Bricofer CEO. “We have many exciting plans as our vision to bring Ascoli to Serie A continues in the years ahead, including the opening of fan clubs, youth academies and other important investments. We look forward to bringing these initiatives to life for our fans alongside our co-owners and partners at North Sixth Group.” Representing North Sixth Group in the transaction was Tuscan-based attorney Simone Calzolai, founder of law firm Studio Legale Calzolai and Dr. Andrea Taddei of accounting firm Studio Picchi, Rome-based sports lawyer Stefano Mancini, New York-based law firm Breslow & Walker, LLP, and Nicola Cirrincione, who will serve as the club’s representative in the North American market. Representing Pulcinelli and Ferinvest S.r.l were Studio Legale Maione and Studio Legale Martella. ABOUT ASCOLI FC Ascoli Calcio 1898 FC (“Ascoli”), is an Italian football club based in Ascoli Piceno in the Marche region of Italy. Known as “La Regina Delle Marche” or the “Queen of Marche”, Ascoli is one of the oldest and most decorated clubs in Italian football. Ascoli was founded in 1898 and have competed in more than 40 seasons in Italian football’s top competitions, Serie A and Serie B. The team is known as the “Picchi” or “The Woodpeckers” and are well-known for their home kits with their signature vertical black and white stripes. As of the 2021-22 season, Ascoli are competing in Serie B, the second highest tier of Italian football. ABOUT NORTH SIXTH GROUP North Sixth Group is a family office operating company. The company has wholly owned and minority interests in a variety of investments across multiple sectors all sharing a common vision of Passion, Purpose and Progress. Included in the North Sixth Group family of companies are leading public relations firm N6A; modern marketing and content house Studios; data-as-a-service provider Everything Clicks; news distribution software solutions provider News Direct; global Italian football streaming platform 196 Sports, and other holdings across media, marketing, technology, sports and entertainment. Additionally, North Sixth Group dedicates financial, networking and human capital resources to community-based initiatives geared toward Passion, Purpose and Progress. ABOUT BRICOFER GROUP S.P.A. Founded in 1979, Bricofer Group S.P.A. (“Bricofer”) is the leading Italian operator in the DIY sector and one of the largest retailers in Europe, with more than 100 locations across Italy and annual revenues in excess of 500 million Euro. Specializing in the home goods and renovations sector, Bricofer is proud to be at families’ service for the care of their house and the realization of their home projects. Bricofer consists of three main business lines across retail, wholesale and e-commerce. Bricofer’s retail line covers a national network of 124 stores in strategic positions across Italy. Bricofer’s wholesale line, referred to as Ottimax, is dedicated to professionals and private label suppliers. Bricofer’s e-commerce line is among the most distinctive online platforms among DIY retailers in Italy. Contact Details N6A (North America Press Contact) +1 212-334-9753 AscoliFC@northsixthgroup.com Company Website https://northsixthgroup.com/

September 01, 2021 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

BEE Elevates Its Freemium with the Addition of Landing Page Design Capabilities

BEE

BEE, a business unit of Growens and leading digital content design platform, announced today that users will now have access to designing landing pages with its freemium product BEE Free. Since its inception in 2014, people have been able to click on ‘Start Designing’ in beefree.io to immediately start creating emails from scratch or select ready-to-use professional templates. With over 30,000 unique users per month for BEE’s freemium design tool, it’s clear BEE is making progress to achieve its vision of democratizing content design for everyone. BEE”s free editor for email was intended to be easy-to-use as it does not require any HTML coding skills. Now, this same frictionless, no-code experience will be replicated for people that need to create landing pages. The move to unlock landing page design capabilities for BEE Free includes over 100 ready-to-use landing page templates as well as a start from scratch option. The use of these tools on beefree.io is completely free. Users who want to experience more advanced design features can sign up for a 15-day trial of BEE Pro, the company's full feature, no-code design suite for email and landing pages. This comes as another meaningful achievement for the team at BEE as they recently announced 10K paid subscribers for its BEE Pro design suite. The addition of landing page design on beefree.io means that now everyone can produce mobile-ready, high-converting, end-to-end campaigns — a sweet move to further support the company's vision to democratize content design. “Introducing landing pages to BEE Free changes the way users create their multi-content campaigns. Having combined communications composed of related emails and landing pages can be extremely effective and powerful for our customers’ strategy,” said Elena Loatelli, Product Marketing Specialist at BEE. “We are especially proud of this release because it aligns with our goal to democratize content design, and now all users can rely on the solid, fast and easy design tools with this new content in BEE Free.” About BEE BEE provides no-code design tools that empower everyone to quickly create content that resonates. BEE’s visual builders are used to design emails, landing pages, one-page sites, and more. They deliver fantastic design flexibility and a great user experience, combining granular control on design elements with handy features like editing content directly in mobile view. BEE is building on its vision to help democratize content design, with millions of monthly users in over 20 languages and from over 150 countries. BEE’s design tools are available online at beefree.io and embedded in 600+ SaaS applications. Contact Details Jules Costa communications@beefree.io Company Website https://beefree.io/

August 30, 2021 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Comcast’s Internet Essentials Program Teams Up with Texas Education Agency to Connect Texas Students and Families with Internet Access at Home

Comcast Houston

Comcast’s Internet Essentials program and Region 4 Education Service Center (Region 4 ESC) have partnered with the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) Connect Texas Program to ensure students within TEA’s Texas footprint have access to reliable, commercially available home-based fixed broadband internet services free of charge. Comcast is one of the service providers stepping up to ensure Texas students can reliably engage in virtual learning with its Internet Essentials service. Internet Essentials is Comcast’s signature digital equity initiative and is available for $9.95 a month (plus applicable taxes and fees). “Quality internet connectivity at home is critical for academic success, and we are proud to partner with Region 4 ESC to help reduce learning gaps and provide increased opportunities for students to have in-home access to the internet,” said Ralph Martinez, Regional Senior Vice President, Comcast Houston. "Providing stable high-quality internet to the students of Texas at home is a critical component of any long-term solution for closing the digital divide for our state,” shared Gaby Rowe, Project Lead, Operation Connectivity. “The TEA Connect Texas program is designed to empower school districts and parents to do just that." With a goal of connecting 40 to 60,000 students, the TEA Connect Texas Program (TEACT) is designed to help close the digital divide for Texas school children in kindergarten through twelfth grade and provide access to at-home connectivity and digital devices. Additionally, TEACT will provide a strong implementation and customer support structure for school systems that want to participate in a broadband roll-out program but may not currently have the available personnel or resources to administer it. Families who participate in TEA’s Connect Texas program can take advantage of Comcast’s Internet Essentials service, the nation’s largest, most comprehensive, and most successful high-speed internet adoption program for low-income households. In 10 years, it has helped connect nearly 1 million low-income Texans to broadband Internet at home, most for the very first time. Region 4 ESC, located in Houston, Texas, is the lead agency for this important program. Through OMNIA Partners’ cooperative purchasing program and partnership with Region 4 ESC, districts across Texas have the opportunity to provide home-based broadband internet access to their students. Through these combined efforts, school systems across Texas will be able to provide the fixed internet solutions their students require for ongoing access to remote educational tools and accelerated learning, which will help school systems to better address the post-COVID learning challenges many Texas students are likely to face. For more information visit: TEA Connect Texas Program Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company that connects people to moments that matter. We are principally focused on broadband, aggregation, and streaming with over 56 million customer relationships across the United States and Europe. We deliver broadband, wireless, and video through our Xfinity, Comcast Business, and Sky brands; create, distribute, and stream leading entertainment, sports, and news through Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, Universal Studio Group, Sky Studios, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, multiple cable networks, Peacock, NBCUniversal News Group, NBC Sports, Sky News, and Sky Sports; and provide memorable experiences at Universal Parks and Resorts in the United States and Asia. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information. Contact Details Misha McClure +1 832-547-6783 Misha_McClure@cable.comcast.com Company Website https://houston.comcast.com/

August 25, 2021 10:00 PM Central Daylight Time

BEE adds a new visual builder to its Plugin product line

BEE

BEE, a business unit of Growens, releases a new visual builder to its Plugin product line. The embeddable popup builder offers no-code, drag & drop design capabilities for marketers to easily create popups for their digital campaigns. Popup Builder is the third digital content type that BEE has introduced. The over 600 SaaS applications that have adopted BEE Plugin can now provide their users with a single design interface for emails, landing pages and popups. Popups are becoming increasingly necessary for businesses to compete and drive customer acquisition, retention and conversion rates. Businesses that implement popups as part of their digital marketing strategy benefit from growing email lists, staying in touch with customers, increasing social media following, and driving online sales. BEE Plugin’s new popup builder can be fully embedded into any SaaS application in under 30 days. The result is a new product offer or feature that users immediately adopt due to an intuitive interface. “We are very excited about the launch of this new builder because we now provide, with a single subscription, the tools that cover the main design needs for creating online campaigns. Our clients can now provide an excellent and consistent content design experience for creating emails, landing pages, and popups. Their users no longer have to learn 3 different tools and can reuse their content across the 3 builders. It also makes life easier for our customers who don’t need to worry about maintaining multiple tools and the associated costs.” Guillermo Padilla, Head of Product “More and more SaaS applications embed BEE Plugin because it helps them deliver a fantastic user experience to their customers, while going to market much faster than if they developed their own content design tools. We are really thrilled to see adoption across many industries, including 40% of the companies in Gartner’s 2021 Quadrant for Multichannel Marketing Platforms.” said Massimo Arrigoni, CEO at BEE. About BEE: BEE provides no-code design tools that empower everyone to quickly create content that resonates. BEE’s visual builders are used to design emails, landing pages, one-page sites, and more. They deliver fantastic design flexibility and a great user experience, combining granular control on design elements with handy features like editing content directly in mobile view. BEE is building on its vision to help democratize content design, with over 4.5 million monthly sessions of its tools in over 150 countries, across 600+ applications. Contact Details Angelina Kaliszak angelina@kitehillpr.com Company Website https://beefree.io/

August 25, 2021 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Tech cross-border M&A on record pace in First Half of 2021 according to data from Velocity Global and PitchBook

Velocity Global

Deal multiples return to 2019 levels Cross-border software deals skyrocket Cross-Border M&A Monitor: Tech Sector released today Cross-border tech merger and acquisition deals accelerated in the first half of 2021, on a record pace in transactional volume. That data from PitchBook was released today in the Cross-Border M&A Monitor: Tech Sector published by Velocity Global, the leading provider of global employment solutions. The late surge of activity in 2020 continued through the first half of this year with approximately 1,000 cross-border tech deals closed, for an aggregate of $139.9 billion. “The deal multiple increased in the first half of this year and returned to 2019 levels, which indicates investor confidence in global economic recovery,” said Rob Wellner, Velocity Global chief revenue officer. “Increased multiples drive an even greater need for pre-deal preparation and successful integration after close.” Software value already tops 2020 The value of cross-border M&A deals for Software companies in the first six months of 2021 already topped full-year values for 2020 at over $100 billion. “The pandemic accelerated digital transformations, funneling budgets to build or buy the necessary tools,” added Wellner. “The acquirers are tech and non-tech alike, with tech adding to their stack, and non-tech adding to their in-house capabilities.” Pandemic Operations Drive Cross-Border M&A Interest As evidenced by the increase in median deal size in cross-border tech M&A, dealmakers paid up with confidence. Cross-border acquisitions require businesses to navigate a distributed workforce, and the global pandemic prompted companies of all sizes to invest in the proper resources. “Integration will always have complexities like country-specific labor laws and regulations, but companies are more willing than ever to invest in cross-border diversification and leverage tools to manage a distributed workforce,” said Wellner. “Work from home is really no different than work from another country as it relates to workflow and employee engagement.” Download the Cross-Border M&A Monitor: Tech Sector here. About Velocity Global Velocity Global accelerates the future of work beyond borders. Its global work platform simplifies the employer and employee experience through proprietary cloud-based workforce management technology, personalized expertise, and unmatched scale. As the largest global Employer of Record (also known as International PEO) in 185 countries and all 50 United States, more than 1,000 brands rely on Velocity Global to build global teams without the cost or complexity of setting up foreign legal entities or state registrations. The company offers additional services including Independent Contractor Compliance to assess a workforce, and Agent of Record (AoR) to streamline payments to contractors. Velocity Global was named a “Leader” in Global Employer of Record services by prominent analyst firm NelsonHall. Founded in 2014, the company has hundreds of employees across five continents. For more information visit velocityglobal.com. Contact Details John Hall +1 720-650-4348 news@velocityglobal.com Company Website https://velocityglobal.com/

August 24, 2021 07:02 AM Mountain Daylight Time

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Juicy Juice Celebrates the Return of the Lunchbox this Back-to-School Season

YourUpdateTV

It’s finally here – the day parents and kids have been yearning for: a fresh start to a new school year and new beginnings. Parents and kids will be celebrating a back-to-school season unlike any other and experiencing a spectrum of emotions along with it. So, what can parents do to navigate both the excitement and nervousness of this back-to-school season and set their kids and themselves up for success? To help parents prepare themselves and their littles ones for the return to school, Juicy Juice is partnering with host of Disney Family Sundays on Disney+, child psychologist and founder of Yay Day Paper Co., Amber Kemp-Gerstel. Crafting expert Amber created custom-designed lunchbox notes for kids to discover at lunchtime to provide a connection to mom and dad. In addition, her tips and suggestions will help alleviate any back-to-school jitters kids may be feeling. The notes, along with other helpful advice from Amber on how to ease the transition of back to school, will be available on Juicy Juice’s website. Additionally, Juicy Juice is hosting a 100% YAY! Sweepstakes to celebrate mom, dad and the caretakers who were handling and coordinating all things virtually this past school year and get them excited and ready for back to school. Each day, ten $100 gift cards will be given away! Through September 22, parents can visit JuicyJuice.com and follow the instructions to complete and submit the online entry form. Entrants can also enter this sweepstakes every day receive a bonus entry for playing the 100% YAY! Lunchbox Game for more chances to win. Visit www.Juicyjuice.com/yay to enter and read the full rules. About YourUpdateTV: YourUpdateTV is a social media video portal for organizations to share their content. It includes separate channels for Health and Wellness, Lifestyle, Media and Entertainment, Money and Finance, Social Responsibility, Sports and Technology. Contact Details YourUpdateTV +1 212-736-2727 yourupdatetv@gmail.com

August 23, 2021 11:01 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Mental Health Advocate and Everything Athletes Founder Kim Carducci Releases Debut Book, The I of the Tiger

Everything Athletes

“I was nothing and no one without sports,” writes Kimberly Carducci in her debut book, The I of the Tiger: The Athlete Identity and Remedying Sport’s Greatest Conflicts. Carducci continues, “For the first time since I was five years old, it felt as if gravity, the commonality that kept all beings rooted on Earth, suddenly stopped and I had no idea what was up, down, or sideways. So much free time and nothing to do. It was paralyzing. It almost drowned me.” Fortunately, Carducci was able to rise above her darkest moments after retiring as a D1 swimmer at the University of North Carolina but many top sports competitors don’t. In The I of the Tiger, Carducci uncovers the many layers, fears, insecurities, and complexities the athlete identity produces. She offers insights on how this identity negatively impacts mental health and the ways athletes can navigate pivotal transitions. “When life hits us hardest, it’s important to understand the biological and psychological effects of pain to shed light on how we can best process our emotions.” offers Carducci. “With this understanding, we can move past the shock of a situation, grow stronger with a refreshed identity, and adopt a framework for life that encourages strength, clarity, and light.” Kim Carducci’s deftly written book combines heartfelt personal anecdotes with references to several historical and prominent athlete figures in our world today, such as Tonya Harding and Michael Phelps aimed at discovering: How competition influences athletes and their mental health Why athletes build an inflated sense of ego, based on physical capabilities How injury and retirement deflate athlete’s sense of worth Daily implications of being a fierce competitor Daily guiding principles for athletes on their transition journey The art of letting go of things athletes once leaned on that wasn’t sturdy enough to support them beyond sports The I of the Tiger: The Athlete Identity and Remedying Sport’s Greatest Conflicts is available September 21, 2021, everywhere books are sold. Learn more at www.everythingathletes.com. About Kimberly Carducci Kimberly is a former DI swimmer, mental health advocate, podcaster, and Founder of Everything Athletes. In her athletic career, Kim struggled with depression and has since dedicated herself to helping other athletes cope with the realities of the sports world. Kim founded Everything Athletes, an online refuge for competitors, where she offers the resources and tools needed to thrive in sports. Kim resides in Atlanta, GA. Learn More About Kim & Everything Athletes: Instagram: @everythingathletesdotcom Website: EverythingAthletes.com Facebook: Everything Athletes Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/introduction-to-kim-carducci/id1541556960?i=1000499841965 Contact Details Eric Nemeth nemeth@ericpr.com Company Website https://www.everythingathletes.com/

August 19, 2021 09:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Agora Data to Present at NIADA Convention

Agora

Agora Data’s SVP of Sales, Chris Barry, will present " Groundbreaking Changes in Auto Financing" at the National Independent Auto Dealers Association (NIADA) Convention and Expo being held August 23-26 in San Antonio, Texas. Barry will present on August 25 at 2:15 p.m. A revolution is happening in the auto finance industry. New funding options are giving Buy Here Pay Here (BHPH) dealers and small to mid-size finance companies the same financial advantages large dealerships and finance companies have always enjoyed. Chris Barry is uniquely qualified to highlight and detail the advantages these industry-changing financial solutions offer and what they mean for the underserved and underbanked BHPH industry. “Timing is perfect for dealers to take advantage of financial solutions that create access to endless capital to help increase inventory,” said Agora Data’s Chris Barry. “Agora’s innovative approach represents a monumental shift that enables dealers by providing the cash needed to buy more inventory and exponentially expand their businesses. By Agora’s delivering lower interest rates to the dealers, dealers can offer their customers more affordable loans.” In addition to funding advantages from Agora, any size of dealer immediately benefits from Agora’s platform by connecting their portfolio to obtain customized analytics and analysis of their portfolios – free of charge. In addition, members can explore a multitude of capital-rich options based on growth goals such as selling loans, borrowing, or refinancing at low-interest rates. Recognizing the challenges that have traditionally hobbled BHPH dealers and small-to-mid-size finance companies, Agora Data is on a mission to empower the industry. Agora Data will be in booth #422 at the 2021 NIADA Convention. Representatives will be ready to discuss all the tools, analysis, and new developments in auto financing that Agora Data brings and how Agora can generate increased successes for dealers, finance companies, and their customers. About Agora Data, Inc: Agora Data is a platform built to deliver a suite of tools to empower buy-here-pay-here dealers and finance companies to maximize their success. Agora is disrupting and influencing the industry by connecting its dealer and finance company members to Wall Street and other capital resources that were previously only available to large dealer groups. Agora Data’s family of auto finance products provides a wide range of critical funding paths so originators can obtain the cash they need to fuel growth. Powered by Agora’s proprietary, radical, AI-infused technology platform, originators now have access to robust data analytics and planning resources to help optimize the performance of their portfolio. Agora Data made history by closing the first-ever Crowdsourced Subprime Auto Securitization in 2020 and followed that up with its second transaction in early 2021. For more information, visit agoradata.com and become a member or contact us at 877-592-4672. Contact Details Shelly Vandeven +1 682-282-4130 media@agoradata.com Company Website https://agoradata.com/

August 18, 2021 10:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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