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Acacia Research Invests in Bitzumi; Partners to Develop Blockchain IP Strategy
[February 14, 2018]

Acacia Research Invests in Bitzumi; Partners to Develop Blockchain IP Strategy


Acacia Research Corporation (NASDAQ: ACTG) announced today that it has entered into a Joint Venture and Services Agreement ("Joint Venture Agreement") with Bitzumi, Inc., a company developing macro opportunities in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries, including a next generation decentralized exchange. Bitzumi recently filed a Regulation A Offering Statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission and a listing application with NASDAQ.

Acacia has completed an initial $1 million equity investment in Bitzumi. Under the Joint Venture Agreement, Acacia will provide various patent-related services to Bitzumi and has the option to invest up to an additional $9 million to acquire Bitzumi common stock. Pursuant to Acacia's initial investment, Acacia received a short-term warrant to purchase $4 million in Bitzumi shares and under the Joint Venture Agreement, Acacia has a right to acquire up to an additional $5 million of Bitzumi shares at a price of $2.50.

Acacia's investment in Bitzumi represents Acacia's first investment into the cryptocurrency and blockchain marketplaces.

Acacia Research (News - Alert) President Rob Stewart commented, "Acacia looks forward to working with Bitzumi's management team to implement its blockchain and IP related initiatives. Bitzumi is cryptocurrency agnostic and we believe Bitzumi is well positioned to take advantage of the potentially considerable market opportunity in the cryptocurrency and blockchain technology industries. We believe technologies like blockchain will be disruptive and be an important part of the technology growth sector."

Commenting on the joint venture, James Altucher, Co-Founder of Bitzumi, stated, "As we develop Bitzumi's decentralized exchange it is important to have a partner like Acacia to help protect and develop an IP related strategy utilizing blockchain technology."

Scot Cohen, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Bitzumi, stated, "Acacia has been a leader in the patent space for over the past decade, creating one of the largest independent patent portfolios through representation of individual and corporate patent partners. Acacia has secured licensing revenue exceeding a billion dollars from licenses with many of the largest companies in the world. Partnering with Acacia in the blockchain IP space will allow us to take an early lead and build Bitzumi's IP position in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries."

ABOUT ACACIA RESEARCH CORPORATION

Founded in 1993, Acacia Research Corporation (NASDAQ: ACTG) is an industry leader in patent licensing and partners with inventors and patent owners to unlock the financial value in their patented inventions. Acacia bridges the gap between invention and application, facilitating efficiency and delivering monetary rewards to the patent owner. Acacia also leverages its patent expertise and background to partner with emerging disruptive technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Blockchain.



For more information, visit: http://acaciaresearch.com

ABOUT BITZUMI


Co-founded by James Altucher and Scot Cohen, Bitzumi is a digital content and asset platform that plans to enable users to transact in the cryptocurrency and blockchain marketplace. Bitzumi's model is to develop a next generation decentralized exchange while simultaneously developing and acquiring the largest network of crypto and blockchain related digital properties.

Bitzumi's Regulation A Offering Statement has been qualified by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Bitzumi has also filed a listing application with Nasdaq. For more information, visit www.bitzumi.com.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

This news release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the federal securities laws, which statements are subject to considerable risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based upon our current expectations, and speak only as of the date hereof. Forward-looking statements include all statements other than statements of historical fact contained in the press release, including statements regarding the potential for Acacia to make a larger investment in Bitzumi; the potential exercise by Acacia of the short-term warrant to purchase Bitzumi common stock; Bitzumi's plans to develop opportunities in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries including a decentralized exchange; Bitzumi's ability to grow and develop its platforms; Bitzumi's position in the cryptocurrency and blockchain technology industries; and the potential market opportunity in the cryptocurrency and blockchain technology industries. We have attempted to identify forward-looking statements by using words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "potential," or "would," and similar expressions or the negative of these expressions. Forward looking statements also include those from Mr. Stewart, Mr. Altucher, and Mr. Cohen regarding Acacia's ability to help Bitzumi take advantage of and help build an IP position in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries.

Forward-looking statements represent our management's current expectations and predictions about trends affecting our business and industry and are based on information available as of the time such statements are made. Although we do not make forward-looking statements unless we believe we have a reasonable basis for doing so, we cannot guarantee their accuracy or completeness. Forward-looking statements involve numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements predicted, assumed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Some of the risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results to materially differ from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements include Bitzumi's ability to complete its Reg A public stock offering, Bitzumi's ability to hire key talent and develop business relationships in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries, the ability of Bitzumi to compete within and navigate the competitive, rapidly-evolving cryptocurrency and blockchain marketplaces; Bitzumi's ability to raise sufficient capital to achieve its objectives, rapid technological change and intense competition within the cryptocurrency and blockchain technology industries; and legislative or regulatory developments impacting the cryptocurrency and blockchain technology industries, including changes to existing state and federal securities and commodities laws. Additional risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results to materially differ from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements are described in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2017, as well as in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by applicable law or the listing rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market, we expressly disclaim any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, whether to conform such statements to actual results or changes in our expectations, or as a result of the availability of new information.


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