Publicly traded esports and gaming company ESE Entertainment (TSXV:ESE, OTCQX:ENTEF) announced Monday that it has entered into a “definitive share purchase agreement” with BPV Games Limited Partnership (part of BlackPines Capital Partners Ltd., to sell off its remaining 30% interest in gaming marketing firm/ad agency GameAddik.
ESE sold 70% of GameAddik in August 2023 to BPV Games, subject to a 15% holdback to be released in two equal tranches on each of the 6-month and 12-month anniversaries of the closing, with the first tranche received on Feb. 14.
“We appreciate ESE’s partnership since our initial investment and want to thank Konrad Wasiela for his contributions to GameAddik and our Board of Directors. We are pleased to reach this agreement to acquire full ownership of GameAddik,” said Darren Huston, founder of BlackPines. “GameAddik is a world-class team that delivers industry-leading marketing ROIs to a growing roster of clients in the video game industry – and we are excited to continue supporting its accelerated growth in the years ahead.”
ESE is selling its remaining 30% interest in GameAddik for consideration of around $4M CAD (roughly $2.92M USD), payable in cash on closing. BPV Games will pay the second tranche of the holdback ($548K CAD, or roughly $401K USD) on Aug. 14.
The company said in its announcement that this transaction will allow it to “improve its cash position without causing dilution to its shareholders, to settle certain liabilities, to invest in the further development of its core business operations, and to explore other strategic opportunities to provide shareholder value in the near-term and long term.”
The transaction is still subject to closing conditions, regulatory approvals from the TSX Venture Exchange, and “the receipt of the Shareholder Consent.”
With the acquisition, BPV Games also takes control of Elusive Agency, which was acquired by GameAddik in January.