Ecoark Board Authorizes Leadership to Evaluate Potential Zest Labs Spin-Off
Unanimous Vote Provides Authority to Explore Strategic Options to Bolster Zest Labs as a Standalone Technology Company
Rogers, AR – August 9, 2017 – Ecoark Holdings, Inc. (“Ecoark”) (OTCQX: EARK), a diversified holding company, today announced that the Board of Directors has given its leadership the authority to explore strategic options related to Zest Labs, including but not limited to a potential spin-off of the company. Ecoark leadership will evaluate all options for Zest Labs in an effort to unlock long-term shareholder value and maximize Zest Labs’ opportunity to lead the agriculture and supply chain industries with cloud-based software solutions, helping farmers, distributors and grocers substantially reduce the 30 percent food waste problem currently burdening the post-harvest fresh food industry. Zest Labs will also expand the size of its Board of Directors to allow the addition of new Board members with specific industry expertise.
“Our executive team unanimously feels there is great potential for Zest Labs to generate more shareholder value as a standalone company than as a wholly owned subsidiary within our holding company,” said Jay Puchir, chief executive officer of Ecoark. “We are closely evaluating all options, and this board authorization is a key step to establishing Zest Labs as a viable standalone player in this rapidly emerging market.”
Zest Labs’ technology enables retailers to significantly reduce fresh food spoilage by providing a growing suite of proprietary solutions and technologies that drive efficiency and sustainability through improved quality consistency for a wide range of clients. The company is modernizing the post-harvest fresh food processing and distribution industry by delivering six sigma process management in an approachable and scalable service.
The USDA estimated the amount of food loss in the U.S. to be $161 billion, and quality consistency remains a primary contributor to food loss. The Zest Fresh™ solution is a breakthrough approach to solve this issue through quality management of post-harvest fresh food that substantially reduces food loss and waste by improving quality consistency. Zest Fresh addresses quality consistency shortcomings by combining cloud, mobile and cost-effective, item-level monitoring technology with real-time predictive and prescriptive analytics. With Zest Fresh, growers, distributors and retailers improve quality consistency, profitability and sustainability while reducing waste.
“We are excited to explore these initiatives to accelerate our growth and broaden our opportunities as an independent company,” stated Peter Mehring, chief executive officer of Zest Labs. “This transition best positions Zest Labs to expand our leadership in reducing food waste with Zest Fresh, our proven freshness management solution.”
Zest Labs will host an open house in San Jose, Calif. on September 27, 2017. During the event, Zest Labs executives will present the Zest Fresh solution and how the technology improves delivered quality consistency while significantly reducing perishable food waste. Following the presentations, Zest Labs will host a Q&A. This event is open to the public. Interested attendees can find more information about the event and register to attend on the Ecoark website. Additional details will be released closer to the event date.
About Zest Labs
Zest Labs, a subsidiary of Ecoark Holdings, Inc., provides a growing suite of freshness management solutions that substantially improve quality consistency and drive sustainability for a wide range of clients. Zest Labs provides solutions to modernize the existing food distribution and delivery system by significantly increasing efficiency through continuous condition monitoring and real-time prescriptive analytics.
To learn more about Zest Labs, please click here. To watch a video about Zest Fresh, please click here.
About Ecoark Holdings, Inc.
Founded in 2011, Ecoark Holdings, Inc. is a diversified holding company focused on delivering long-term shareholder value. The company currently has five subsidiaries: Zest Labs, 440Labs, Pioneer Products, Sable Polymer Solutions and Magnolia Solar. For more information, please visit https://ecoarkusa.com/, and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Forward Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements concerning the business and possible or assumed future results of operations of Ecoark Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries; statements concerning the possible or assumed ability of Zest Labs to accelerate its growth and broaden its opportunities; statements concerning the possible or assumed ability of Zest Labs to reduce fresh food spoilage and improve quality consistency, efficiency, profitability, and sustainability; statements about the ability of Zest Labs to successfully attract new board members with specific industry expertise; and statements about Ecoark’s ability to complete, and the potential impacts of completing, potential strategic options regarding Zest Labs, including but not limited to a potential spin-off of Zest Labs. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements for many reasons, including but not limited to: access to growth capital on favorable terms; adverse economic changes affecting markets we serve; competition in our markets and industry segments; our timing and the profitability of entering new markets; greater than expected costs, customer acceptance of our products, or difficulties related to our integration of the businesses we may acquire; and other risks and uncertainties as may be detailed from time to time in our public announcements and SEC filings. In addition, we do not know whether any particular strategic options being explored related to Zest Labs, including but not limited to a potential spin-off, will actually be completed or the potential impacts of those strategic options, and our ability to complete any strategic options related to Zest Labs will depend on a significant number of factors, including those identified in the previous sentence, and a number of other unknown factors that are outside of our control. Although we believe the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, they relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made, and our future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements may not meet these expectations. We do not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this document to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations, except as required by law.
Contact
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