Black Ridge Acquisition Corp. and Ourgame International Holdings Ltd. have entered an agreement that will see Black Ridge acquire two of Ourgame’s esports properties, Allied Esports and World Poker Tour.
Once the acquisition is complete the combined properties will be known as Allied Esports Entertainment, providing “world-class in-person experiences, multiplatform content and interactive services” to the esports and gaming industries.
Allied Esports Entertainment will combine Allied Esports’ venue-driven services with the business model of the World Poker Tour. The new company will continue to develop esports-dedicated arenas, mobile gaming trucks, and affiliate arenas (which was announced recently).
Once the transaction is complete, Allied Esports Entertainment will be led by Lyle Berman as Chairman, Eric Yang as Vice Chairman, Frank Ng as CEO, Ken DeCubellis as CFO, David Moon as COO, and Adam Pliska as President. Jud Hannigan’s role as CEO of Allied Esports will remain intact.
Lyle Berman, Director of Black Ridge – who is expected to be the Chairman of the Board of AESE – commented in a statement: “In more than 40 years in the gaming and entertainment business, this is the most exciting opportunity I have seen. The capital from the Black Ridge SPAC will be used to expand AESE’s global property network, accelerating their first-mover advantage as the company continues to build a brand that is synonymous with Esports.”
“This transaction will be transformational for our rapidly expanding company and provide the esports community with a fully capitalized, globally connected esports enterprise capable of producing the volume and breadth of esports entertainment products the industry is increasingly demanding,” said Frank Ng, who will step down as CEO of Ourgame to lead AESE under the same title. “By applying WPT’s proven business model to the much bigger, higher-growth global Esports business, we are creating an esports entertainment platform that is long-lasting and positioned to capture the esports monetization opportunity.”
Earlier this month, HyperX expanded its partnership with Allied Esports by entering a multi-year naming rights deal for the company’s mobile esports arena; formerly known as Esports Arena Drive, it’s now named the HyperX Esports Truck. In November, HyperX acquired the naming rights to Allied Esports’ flagship venue, the Esports Arena Las Vegas – it’s now known as as HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas.
Esports Insider says: Allied Esports has announced plenty of exciting moves as of late, and the news just keeps coming in. Adapting the business model of the World Poker Tour to the venue company’s services is a very interesting prospect that will definitely be worth keeping an eye on as things develop over time.