Roundtable, a digital media company that provides publishing, community and more for The Hockey News, has signed a definitive agreement to merge with RYVYL Inc.
The merger, announced on Sept. 30, is expected to be a significant investment in Roundtable’s model of powering journalists, publishers and communities to compete with big tech.
RYVYL is a technology company that builds customized, blockchain-based payment solutions. The proposed merger with Roundtable (RTB Digital Inc.) would accelerate revenue and growth for clients, such as The Hockey News, Yahoo, Paris Saint-Germain European Football Club and more.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2025, subject to RYVYL stockholders’ approval and other closing conditions. Leading the combined company as CEO once the transaction closes is James Heckman, CEO of Roundtable and founder of several major media ventures, such as rivals.com, scout.com, 5to1.com, NFL Exclusive and Maven.
“In advance of the public merger with RYVYL, we’ve recently raised $33 million in new capital to support our digital platform to integrate millions of users into our media liquidity pool, designed to autonomize payments, modernize publishing infrastructure and empower the next generation of global media brands,” Heckman said in the news release.
Roundtable is a Web3 digital media SaaS technology company that provides white-label, full stack distribution, community, publishing and monetization for media brands, journalists and communities. It provides a platform for media partners that is built on decentralized, blockchain technology.
That all allows publishers to control their data, build communities and become a one-stop shop for readers.
The Hockey News owner W. Graeme Roustan is a co-founder of Roundtable. The Hockey News has a digital network including 32 NHL team sites and 13 specialty channels, each with their own community forum using Roundtable technology.
RYVYL’s interim CEO and chairman, George Oliva, said the company’s emphasis will shift to supporting Roundtable’s digital platform.