SPYR Inc (OTCMKTS:SPYR) is a micro-cap player we have been pointing to for some time. The company is an emerging leader in mobile gaming, but the story is a bit more interesting than that. The narrative here is a diversified consumer play that has roots in both the fast casual dining segment (the more conservation growth segment for the company) and the digital gaming and app space. Recent fireworks have been focused on the digital gaming side, with the big news in play at the moment in the form of the company’s announcement that the company’s flagship brand, Pocket Starships, is set to become part of the first group of games available on the new Gameroom platform, now available in beta, for Windows PC gamers that was recently developed and released by Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB).
The company also just announced that Farshid Almassizadeh, the former VP and COO of EA Interactive at Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA), will join the SPYR team as its Chief Strategic Advisor. Mr. Almassizadeh will bring his 25+ years of experience in the gaming industry to SPYR as an advisor to SPYR’s management team, the game publishing team, as well as the associated developer community. This should continue to build positive news momentum for the stock.
SPYR Inc (OTCMKTS:SPYR) engages in the digital media and restaurant businesses primarily in the United States. The company engages in developing, publishing, co-publishing, and marketing mobile games and applications.
It also owns and operates American Diner theme restaurant under the Eat at Joe’s brand located in the Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The company was formerly known as Eat at Joe’s, Ltd. and changed its name to SPYR, Inc. in March 2015. SPYR, Inc. was incorporated in 1988 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.
According to the company’s materials, “SPYR, INC. is a holding company that through its wholly owned subsidiary SPYR APPS, LLC, is engaged in mobile application and game publishing and development. SPYR, INC. also owns and operates an “American Diner” theme restaurant located in the Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania called “Eat at Joe’s” through its other wholly-owned subsidiary, E.A.J.: PHL Airport Inc. The Company is currently exploring opportunities for additional acquisitions in these and other verticals, including mobile application and game development, to expand its holdings, to drive and increase revenue and to generate profits and build value for shareholders.”
Tapping Talent
According to the company’s latest release, Mr. Almassizadeh has held executive positions, including COO of EA Interactive and Senior Director of Product Development for The Simpsons and The Sims Console franchises, at Electronic Arts. He is presently an executive at Age of Learning and previously held an executive position at GlobalWide Media.
Mr. Almassizadeh is a proven and versatile senior executive with a measurable record of success building international organizations and running profitable businesses within the console, mobile, online, advertising, educational, social games and entertainment industries over the last 25+ years. He has also served as an advisory board member to companies in the apps and entertainment space, including Relationup, Halon Entertainment, 2Mundos and MATTERvr.
It seems likely that Mr. Almassizadeh will bring a wealth of knowledge and contacts in the games industry to SPYR, which is a priceless additional ingredient in a recipe that has been showing more and more promise with each passing week so far this year.
As the company notes, he will be advising and assisting the company with all aspects of its games business, such as development, user acquisition and monetization strategies, marketing and PR, strategic partnerships, identifying new games for publication and fundraising. James R. Thompson, SPYR’s CEO and President, stated: “Everyone at SPYR is very excited to be working with Farshid. His many years of experience and connections in the gaming industry are going to be invaluable to the company and we believe that he will help us cultivate all of the seeds we have planted over the last year to grow our games business and revenue.”
Shares of the stock have pulled back of late, after exhausting momentum in a huge upward move that took the stock higher by nearly a factor of 10 in just a few months.
The current pullback could be a healthy breather. Into the teeth of that pullback, we now know that the company will feature significant added talent and experience, as well as huge additional exposure through Facebook’s estimated 1.8 billion monthly active users.
