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Aura Completes Acquisition of Qoria

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Global Leader in Online Safety to Begin Normal Trading on Australian Securities Exchange on Monday, July 20 Under the Ticker AXQ

BOSTON, July 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Aura (ASX: AXQ), a global leader in online safety and wellbeing, today completed its acquisition of Qoria (formerly ASX: QOR), a global leader in student safety and wellbeing. The combined group’s CHESS Depositary Interests (CDIs) will begin trading on a normal (T+2) settlement basis on or about Monday, July 20th at 10:00 AM AEST.

“Aura and Qoria are both mission-driven companies. We exist to empower people of all ages to not only stay safe, but thrive in a fully connected world,” said Hari Ravichandran, founder and CEO of Aura. “Together, we will accelerate our shared vision for an end-to-end, AI-first model that helps proactively protect users across the environments that matter most– home, school and work.”

A Global Leader in Online Safety
The integration of Aura and Qoria unites Aura’s AI-powered suite of online safety and wellbeing tools with Qoria’s global connected schools ecosystem and strengthens the company’s position in the digital safety market, providing all-in-one protection for individuals, families and enterprises worldwide.

The acquisition creates a significantly larger, more diversified business with global reach, bolstering Aura’s scaled consumer platform with a global base of Qustodio parent accounts and approximately 32,000 school customers. On a pro forma combined basis, the group generated more than US$300 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) for the year ending December 31, 2025, targeting more than 20 percent growth in calendar year 2026 and positive free cash flow from closing to December 31, 2026. 1

Transaction Details
This acquisition has been finalized following the completion of all conditions outlined under the Australian Scheme of Arrangement, including approval of the acquisition by Qoria shareholders and the Federal Court of Australia. Eligible Qoria shareholders received Aura CDIs in exchange for their Qoria shares at a ratio of approximately 1 Aura CDI for every 17.32 Qoria shares held.

Aura’s CDIs, which began conditional and deferred settlement trading on July 9, 2026, are expected to move to normal (T+2) settlement trading on July 20, 2026.

Alongside the completion of this acquisition, Aura raised US$100 million through an equity placement to existing Aura shareholders, including Hari Ravichandran, WndrCo, Accel and General Catalyst.

Earnings
Following its public debut, Aura will report second quarter 2026 financial results on August 6, 2026 prior to the ASX market opening. The company will host its first earnings webcast at 10:30 AM AEST the same day to discuss its financial results and business outlook.

Q2 2026 Earnings Call Details

August 6, 2026 10:30am AEST | August 5, 2026 8:30pm EDTLink to register: https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/280029693

A replay of the webcast will be available on Aura’s investor relations website at investors.aura.com.

About Aura

Aura (ASX: AXQ) is a global leader in online safety and wellbeing. Built on the belief that people deserve a trusted, always-on layer of protection, Aura’s AI-powered platform delivers protection for individuals, families and enterprises– from proactive protection against identity theft, financial fraud and online threats to tools that help schools and parents protect children from cyberbullying, harmful content, and threats to their wellbeing. Aura’s platform spans the environments that matter most– home, school and work– empowering people of all ages with end-to-end protection for every aspect of online life. Learn more at aura.com.

Forward-looking statements

This press release contains “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” regarding possible or assumed future performance or potential growth of Aura which are based on the assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management of Aura believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but which may prove to be incorrect. Forward-looking statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or include words such as ‘expects’, ‘anticipates’, ‘plans’, ‘believes’, ‘estimates’, ‘seeks’, ‘intends’, ‘targets’, ‘projects,’ ‘forecasts’, or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as ‘may’, ‘will’, ‘should’, ‘would’ and ‘could’. Although management believes that the assumptions made by Aura and the expectations represented by such information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking information will provide to be accurate. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Aura to be materially different from any anticipated future results, performance or achievements or expressed or implied by such forward-looking information.

1 Free cash flow is operating cash flow plus investing cash flow and lease payments and excludes net interest and business restructure costs. ARR and free cash flow are non-GAAP measures that do not have standardized meanings under Australian Accounting Standards, International Financial Reporting Standards or Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other entities.

CATEGORY: Financial News

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CobbleStone Announces Upcoming Webinar With WSIPC Cooperative Purchasing On Enhancing Education Agreements

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CobbleStone Software and WSIPC are hosting an exclusive joint webinar tailored specifically for those in the K-12 education community looking to improve their contract management processes July 23rd, 2026 at 1:00PM – 1:30PM.

PRINCETON, N.J., July 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — CobbleStone Software, a recognized leader in contract lifecycle management (CLM) and contract artificial intelligence, is pleased to announce an upcoming collaborative webinar with WSIPC Cooperative Purchasing, titled: Enhancing Education Agreements with CobbleStone Software & WSIPC Cooperative Purchasing. The experience is tailored specifically for K-12 education professionals who manage a high volume of vendor agreements, compliance mandates, and educational service contracts. It will take place July 23rd, 2026 at 1:00PM – 1:30PM.

The highly voluminous and complex contract management process that education-sector professionals face can feel like a balancing act. When contract management stalls, a domino effect occurs, with school budgets and on-the-ground classroom resources being at risk of toppling – resulting in myriad deleterious downstream effects for system systems, teachers, and students.

Luckily, K-12 organizations can rest assured that there is a solution to prevent such headaches: contract lifecycle management tools.

Professionals are encouraged to join Alex Carraro (Account Manager at CobbleStone Software) and Cynthia Gefeller (Contract Administrator at WSIPC) as they tackle education tech contracting solutions that power the sector, with industry-tailored CLM functionality that includes:

Generative AI functionality (chatbot, risk insights, contract sentiment analysis)AI-powered agentic redlining, negotiation playbooks, and auto-obligation tracking and task creation.A searchable, reportable contract repository.Flexible workflow agents and task alerts.Compliance guardrails and monitoring tools.Various system integrations.

Click here to register for the webinar and learn more.

“K-12 education leaders shape the minds of the irreplaceable young people that will go on to shape the workforce,” said Bradford Jones, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at CobbleStone Software.

“By empowering the sector’s legal, procurement, and administrative teams with the tools they need to uphold a strong foundation and strategy for K-12 education, we are honored to play a crucial role in a mission to build a more prepared, knowledgeable, and capable populace.”

Book a free demo to see CobbleStone in action today!

For more information, email Sales@CobbleStoneSoftware.com or call 866-330-0056.

About CobbleStone Software:

CobbleStone Software is a celebrated leader in contract management software solutions whose flagship CLM software solution – CobbleStone Contract Insight® – expedites contract management, vendor management, eProcurement, and eSourcing processes while offering an agentic AI-powered experience, seamless integrations, ease-of-use, and high scalability. CobbleStone provides more intelligent contracts with VISDOM® artificial intelligence, agentic chatbot, machine learning, simplified contract and vendor tracking, highly configurable email alerts, user-friendly calendar notifications, intelligent contract workflow automation, highly robust security options, streamlined authoring of contract templates with dynamic clauses, centralized revenue/cost management, detailed text indexing and searching, future-minded vendor/client ratings, robust document version control, custom contract management reports, speedy IntelliSign® electronic signatures, and more.

Follow CobbleStone Software on social media:
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To stay up to date on contract lifecycle management industry trends and news, subscribe to CobbleStone’s Contract Insights blog.

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Forty Years in the Making: Lucky Mary Blonde Restores a Lost 1988 Concert Through the Power of AI

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Band Releases First Two Singles from Long-Lost 1988 Live Recording Ahead of September 4 Album Release

ST. LOUIS, July 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Nearly four decades after one of its final performances, Illinois alternative rock trio Lucky Mary Blonde is returning with new music from an extraordinary chapter in its history.

Today the band releases its first two singles, “700 Candles Burn” and “I’m a Romantic,” offering listeners the first preview of a newly restored live album recorded during one of the group’s final concerts in the fall of 1988. The complete album is scheduled for worldwide release on September 4, 2026, with two additional singles planned in the weeks leading up to the release.

Recorded at the legendary Gatsby’s music club in Carbondale, Illinois, the concert remained hidden on buried and aging cassette tapes for nearly 40 years before discovery and advances in AI-assisted audio restoration made it possible to recover and restore the performance for modern audiences.

Lucky Mary Blonde emerged as one of the Midwest’s rising college rock bands following the release of its debut album, Let the Moonlight Burn, in late 1987. The album earned regional college radio airplay and established the trio as a favorite throughout the Midwest, performing from Chicago to Memphis before the band unexpectedly disbanded in late 1988.

The restoration project began when St. Louis-based drummer John Baldus received a rediscovered original cassette recording of the concert, prompting him to launch a year-long restoration project with professional recording engineers and original band members, Florida-based Todd Baxter and Virginia-based Jerry Tilk. An unexpected, almost miraculous discovery of a second cassette from the same concert ultimately provided missing audio that helped transform the recording into a remarkably clear and authentic live album.

The finished collection features 16 live performances, including 11 songs never before released, along with five songs from the band’s debut album, Let the Moonlight Burn. Together, they capture Lucky Mary Blonde during its final months and preserve a remarkable chapter of Midwest independent rock history.

The first two singles, “700 Candles Burn” and “I’m a Romantic,” are now available on all major streaming platforms.

The complete live album will be released on September 4, 2026, on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other major digital music services worldwide.

About Lucky Mary Blonde

Lucky Mary Blonde was an Illinois-based alternative rock trio that gained a loyal following throughout the Midwest college music circuit during the late 1980s. Following the release of Let the Moonlight Burn in 1987, the band toured extensively before disbanding in 1988. Their restored live album documents one of the group’s final performances and preserves an overlooked chapter in independent college rock history.

Media Contact
Lucky Mary Blonde
Email: luckymaryblonde@gmail.com
Website: www.luckymaryblonde.com

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Brian Ganser Named Partner in Charge of Growing Advisory Practice

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CLEVELAND, July 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Cohen & Co has named Brian Ganser, MBA, partner in charge of advisory, effective July 13, 2026. In this role, Brian is responsible for the strategy, growth and operational performance of the firm’s Advisory Practice, including its Office of the CFO, Transaction Services and Valuation teams.

Brian has more than 25 years of experience leading and advising middle market organizations through periods of significant growth and transformation. As an entrepreneur, CEO and adviser throughout his career, he has worked alongside founders, management teams and private equity investors to accelerate growth, execute strategic acquisitions and navigate ownership transitions.

“We are excited to have Brian join our senior leadership team,” says Chris Bellamy, Cohen & Co CEO. “As we continue to expand our services to help clients improve performance, execute strategic initiatives and prepare for growth, Brian is the perfect fit both culturally and from a technical perspective to build on the group’s momentum and deliver results on a national scale.”

The firm’s Advisory Practice has seen significant growth, both organically and from recent M&A activity. Cohen & Co recently brought together its cross-functional expertise to formalize an Office of the CFO advisory service offering. The team supports finance leaders through technical and financial reporting, finance transformation and managed accounting services. The firm also has expanded its advisory expertise via various acquisitions since 2024: Tax & Wealth Management based in Cleveland, Ohio, focused on custom tax and accounting advisory services to family offices, ultra-high-net-worth individuals and corporate executives working internationally; Chicago-based Tassi and Company, focused on outsourced fund and partnership accounting, property management and development accounting, and construction draw accounting and tax services; and New York-based Gioffre & Company, focused on outsourced accounting, financial reporting and tax expertise.

Brian is based out of the firm’s Chicago office and serves on the Leadership Council of Special Olympics. He received his MBA from Indiana University Kelly School of Business and his B.A. from Millikin University.

About Cohen & Co
Named one of America’s Most Recommended Tax and Accounting Firms by USA TODAY and one of the Best of the Best Firms by INSIDE Public Accounting, Cohen & Co offers assurance, tax and advisory services to clients throughout the U.S. and worldwide. The firm serves a broad range of clients, from privately held companies and their owners; to public and private funds, advisers and fund service providers within the asset management industry; to Fortune 1000 multinational enterprises. Founded in 1977, Cohen & Co has 900 dedicated professionals across the U.S. and 15 offices in Colorado, Illinois, Ohio, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Through affiliated entities, the firm also has a presence in the Cayman Islands and India. Learn more at cohenco.com. 

 ”Cohen & Co” is the brand name under which Cohen & Company, Ltd. and Cohen & Co Advisory, LLC, and its subsidiary entities, provide professional services. Cohen & Company, Ltd. and Cohen & Co Advisory, LLC practice in an alternative practice structure in accordance with the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and applicable law, regulations and professional standards. Cohen & Company, Ltd. is a licensed independent CPA firm that provides attest services to its clients. Cohen & Co Advisory, LLC and its subsidiary entities provide tax, advisory and business consulting services to their clients and are not licensed CPA firms. The entities operating under the Cohen & Co brand are independently owned and are not responsible for the services provided by any other entity operating under the Cohen & Co brand. Our use of terms such as “our firm,” “we,” “us” and other terms of similar import denote the alternative practice structure of Cohen & Company, Ltd. and Cohen & Co Advisory, LLC.

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