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Black Ridge acquires WPT and Allied Esports Intl.

Black Ridge Acquisition Corporation, a publicly traded company based in United States, has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Ourgame International Holdings Ltd. The agreement states that Black Ridge will acquire Ourgame’s two brands Allied Esports International, Inc. and World Poker Tour (WPT) Enterprises, Inc.

The announcement was made on 19^th December. The agreement also mentions that the combined company will be renamed to Allied Esports Entertainment, Inc. (AESE) and Black Ridge is expected to trade on NASDAQ under ‘AESE’, replacing the current ‘BRAC’ ticker.

Black Ridge paid a total of $150 million to acquire the two leading brands of the gaming industry worldwide and is hoping that it pays off rapidly in the next couple of years, in a time where this industry is worth upwards of $1 billion and is growing.

Lyle Berman, Director of Black Ridge, who is expected to be the Chairman of the Board of AESE upon sealing the deal stated, “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.”

Frank Ng, the incumbent CEO of Ourgame, will step down from his position to lead AESE in the same capacity. He also commented on the deal saying, “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. 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.”

Upon completion of the transaction, there will be a few changes to the top brass of the freshly created AESE – Lyle Berman, Chairman; Eric Yang, Vice Chairman; Frank Ng, Chief Executive Officer; Ken DeCubellis, Chief Financial Officer; David Moon, Chief Operating Officer; and Adam Pliska, President.

One of the high goals set by AESE for itself will be to leverage the high-growth opportunities in the global esports industry with an addressable market of 2.2 billion people worldwide. It will also seek to amplify Allied Esports’ ongoing efforts in setting the standard in esports entertainment through the development of authentic in-person experiences from its iconic global property network, including flagship arenas, mobile esports trucks and affiliate arenas.

Keep reading GutshotMagazine.com for more similar gaming industry news as well as general poker news from around the world.

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