AENT Alliance Entertainment Holding Corporation

Alliance Entertainment Holding Corporation (Nasdaq: AENT) (“Alliance Entertainment”, “Company”), a distributor and wholesaler of the world’s largest in stock selection of music, movies, video games, electronics, arcades, toys and collectibles, today announced 100% vestment of equity grants to 597 employees under its 2023 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan, establishing an employee-owned company.

On June 15, 2023, Alliance Entertainment issued an aggregate of 468,400 shares of Class A Common Stock into a reserve for unvested restricted shares pursuant to the Company’s 2023 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan. All employees hired on or before February 13, 2023, were granted Restricted Stock Awards and all of the shares granted to 597 employees were fully vested on October 4, 2023.

Employees celebrated the significant milestone of becoming owners of our company by wearing Alliance Entertainment t-shirts boasting employee ownership.

Bruce Ogilvie, Chairman of Alliance Entertainment, commented, “Our Equity Incentive Plan represents our goal to unite all employees around our mission by offering a share in the Company’s future. As an employee-owned company we believe we can further improve business performance and reward employees for their hard work and commitment. The plan is a part of our Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) initiatives, including creating and sustaining a safe, diverse and inclusive working environment for our employees. We were excited to celebrate this milestone along with 597 truly deserving employees for all that they do to drive value for our customers, and their efforts to build Alliance’s leadership as the premier distributor of music, movies, video games, electronics, arcades, toys and collectibles.”

About Alliance Entertainment

Alliance Entertainment (NASDAQ: AENT) is a premier distributor of music, movies, and consumer electronics. We offer over 375,000 unique in stock SKU’s, including over 57,300 exclusive compact discs, vinyl LP records, DVDs, Blu-rays, and video games. Complementing our vast media catalog, we also stock a full array of related accessories, toys and collectibles. With more than thirty-five years of distribution experience, Alliance Entertainment serves customers of every size, providing a robust suite of services to resellers and retailers worldwide. Our efficient processing and essential seller tools noticeably reduce the costs associated with administrating multiple vendor relationships, while helping omni-channel retailers expand their product selection and fulfillment goals. For more information, visit www.aent.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this Press Release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding estimates and forecasts of other financial and performance metrics and projections of market opportunity. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether identified in this Press Release, and on the current expectations of Alliance’s management and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as and must not be relied on by an investor as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction, or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of Alliance. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including risks relating to the anticipated growth rates and market opportunities; changes in applicable laws or regulations; the ability of Alliance to execute its business model, including market acceptance of its systems and related services; Alliance’s reliance on a concentration of suppliers for its products and services; increases in Alliance’s costs, disruption of supply, or shortage of products and materials; Alliance’s dependence on a concentration of customers, and failure to add new customers or expand sales to Alliance’s existing customers; increased Alliance inventory and risk of obsolescence; Alliance’s significant amount of indebtedness; Our ability to continue as a going concern absent access to sources of liquidity; risks and failure by Alliance to meet the covenant requirements of its revolving credit facility, including a fixed charge coverage ratio; risks that a breach of the revolving credit facility, including Alliance’s recent breach of the covenant requirements, could result in the lender declaring a default and that the full outstanding amount under the revolving credit facility could be immediately due in full, which would have severe adverse consequences for the Company; known or future litigation and regulatory enforcement risks, including the diversion of time and attention and the additional costs and demands on Alliance’s resources; Alliance’s business being adversely affected by increased inflation, higher interest rates and other adverse economic, business, and/or competitive factors; geopolitical risk and changes in applicable laws or regulations; risk that the COVID-19 pandemic, and local, state, and federal responses to addressing the pandemic may have an adverse effect on our business operations, as well as our financial condition and results of operations; substantial regulations, which are evolving, and unfavorable changes or failure by Alliance to comply with these regulations; product liability claims, which could harm Alliance’s financial condition and liquidity if Alliance is not able to successfully defend or insure against such claims; availability of additional capital to support business growth; and the inability of Alliance to develop and maintain effective internal controls.

For investor inquiries, please contact:MZ GroupChris Tyson/Larry Holub(949) 491-8235AENT@mzgroup.us 

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/123a4aa1-c6fb-4865-9750-978748edb8dd