Source: BEN Markets

Binary Event Network Secures Growth Capital for Live Event Engagement Platform

Investment Led by Guggenheim Partners, Cinnober Financial Technology and Broadhaven Capital Partners to Fund Initial Events Vertical, TradeSports(R)

NEW YORK, Jan. 8, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Binary Event Network ("BEN"), a privately-held technology company leveraging financial market technologies to connect live event programming with digital second screen experiences, today announced that it has secured initial growth capital from veteran finance, media and technology investors including Guggenheim Partners, Cinnober Financial Technology and Broadhaven Capital Partners. The capital will be used to launch BEN's initial event vertical, TradeSports®, a robust "competitive spectator" experience in which participants can buy and sell sports event outcomes based on real-time information while watching live games.

"With the launch of TradeSports®, BEN has empowered individuals to win the 'game within the game' by showcasing their own expertise, insight and instinct while actively competing against the consensus opinion of social networks and friends in real-time," said Greg DePetris, BEN's co-founder. "Connecting these individuals with content they care about across key passion verticals including, initially, sporting events through TradeSports®, creates a virtuous cycle between the second and first screens, yielding engaged and measurable consumption of live programming. BEN is honored to have investors from the media, finance, and social gaming industries for our initial efforts, and we look forward to reporting on our future progress."

"BEN's platform falls into a unique intersection of financial markets, digital media and the phenomenon of the 'competitive spectator'," said Douglas Atkin, Senior Manager Director responsible for venture investments at Guggenheim Partners. "The Company's founders bring unique expertise and a track record of success in all of these areas, and we look forward to contributing our strategic and financial resources to help ensure successful commercialization of this exciting new engagement paradigm."

Using data analysis and pricing models derived from the financial markets, BEN streams a probability index, or PIX™. As applied in TradeSports®, the PIX™ index adjusts dynamically as changing sentiment, events on the field, and related inputs drive consensus opinion concerning the outcome of a game, including the NFL, NCAA Football, NBA and NCAA Basketball, with additional sports to be added as seasons commence. Participants engage with the PIX™ by expressing their own opinions about what's likely to happen next, accumulating points, affecting the measure of consensus opinion, and proving their expertise.

"Cinnober has a tradition and a philosophy of investing in new projects where our exchange-related expertise can make a difference," added Veronica Augustsson, CEO of Cinnober. "We are confident that BEN represents a compelling opportunity in this regard, as our exchange technology will ensure a reliable, scalable, and institutional-caliber experience for users."

TradeSports® is available via www.TradeSportsGame.com, with playing options for iOS and Facebook. Follow TradeSports® on Twitter at @TradeSportsGame and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TradeSportsGame.

For more information about BEN, please visit us at:

About Binary Event Network

Founded in January 2011 by a group of financial and media industry veterans, BEN combines a global financial exchange platform with proprietary real-time content to create a new interactive experience for live events. The company's first product, TradeSports®, is a pioneering global social sports app designed to complement both first and second screen experiences for sports fans, enthusiasts and data consumers on mobile and tablet devices. BEN is headquartered in New York City.

About Guggenheim Partners

Guggenheim Partners, LLC is a privately held global financial services firm with more than $160 billion in assets under management. The firm provides asset management, investment banking and capital markets services, insurance, institutional finance and investment advisory solutions to institutions, governments and agencies, corporations, investment advisors, family offices and individuals. Guggenheim Partners is headquartered in New York and Chicago and serves clients around the world from more than 25 offices in eight countries. For more information about Guggenheim Partners, visit www.guggenheimpartners.com.

About Cinnober Financial Technology

Cinnober provides mission-critical solutions and services to leading trading and clearing venues. Cinnober's solutions are based on the TRADExpress™ Platform incorporating everything needed for mission-critical solutions in terms of performance, robustness and flexibility. The portfolio of offerings includes price discovery and matching, real-time risk management, clearing and settlement, index calculation, data distribution and surveillance. Cinnober's customers include Alpha Exchange, Borsa Italiana, BM&FBOVESPA, Burgundy, Deutsche Börse, Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange, Eurex, Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange, London Metal Exchange, LME Clear, Markit BOAT, NYSE Liffe, Stock Exchange of Thailand and Quadriserv. For additional information, please visit www.cinnober.com