UPDATE 04/03/2024: GameSquare announced on March 4th that it has completed the sale, following approval from the TSXV exchange.
North American esports conglomerate GameSquare has sold Complexity Gaming to an investor group led by the esports organisation’s founder and CEO Jason Lake.
Complexity’s assets and intellectual property, including its esports team, have been purchased by the investor group Global Esports Properties for $10.36m (~£8.19m). The purchase follows GameSquare and FaZe Clan shareholders approving their merger earlier this week.
One of the major concerns raised by the merger was GameSqaure owning two rival North American esports organisations in FaZe Clan and Complexity. However, now the FaZe Clan merger is imminent, Complexity has been sold.
According to a release, a Membership Interest Purchase Agreement has been signed between Complexity and GameSquare with the deal set to be closed following approval by the TSXV stock exchange.
Jason Lake founded Complexity in 2003. GameSquare acquired the esports organisation for $27m in 2021. The news that Jason Lake might buy Complexity back from GameSquare was first reported by HLTV in 2023.
Launched in 2011, GameSquare is a prominent esports conglomerate that owns a variety of properties in the esports space. Alongside Complexity, this includes agencies Zoned Gaming and Code Red Esports, live stream analytics company Stream Hatchet and merchandise business Mission Supply.
Complexity Founder and CEO Jason Lake, commented on the announcement: “This is an epic moment in the history of Complexity and we’re grateful for this exciting opportunity.
“I’d like to thank the Jones and Goff families and everyone at GameSquare for our years of successful collaboration. Together we’ve significantly grown Complexity’s revenues and built a financially stable organisation. It’s now time to write the next chapter in our legendary story and I’m confident our loyal fans will greatly enjoy the years ahead.”
GameSquare has also released some additional financial details regarding the Complexity purchase. This includes Global Esports Properties paying the company $750,000 (~£593,000) when the transition is closed.
Moreover, GameSquare and Global Esports Properties have signed a three-year seller finance note (a form of financing where a seller agrees to receive a portion of the acquisition proceeds in a series of debt payments) worth approximately $9.61m (~£7.6m).
This will incur a 3% annual interest that is to be paid by GameSquare as a balloon payment at the end of the term. Finally, GameSquare will have the right to receive 50% of the proceeds from any equity raised by Jason Lake’s investor group in excess of $500,000. This amount will be credited against the balance of the seller-financed note.
