Allied Esports Entertainment, Inc, the Nasdaq-listed eSports and poker venture part-owned by Chinese online games operator Ourgame International Holdings, says it has completed the sale of its World Poker Tour (WPT) assets for US$105 million.
The transaction will see Element Partners, LLC acquire 100% of the outstanding capital stock of each of the legal entities that collectively operate or engage in the Allied Esport’s poker-related business, plus all assets, following a bidding war with US gaming firm Bally’s.
Having originally put forward a US$78 million bid for the WPT in January, Element Partners was forced to come back in over the top after Bally’s came in with a higher US$100 million offer in March. Both Bally’s and Element Partners eventually settled on a similar offer with Allied Esports confirming in April it would accept the Element Partners bid based on the original agreement, which stipulated it could only be superseded by a superior offer.
Allied Esports said that, following the completion of the WPT sale, the company is now comprised of its esports business plus cash resources from the sale.
According to a filing by Ourgame, the sale also saw Adam Pliska, President of Allied Esports and CEO of the WPT, paid US$649,231 for services rendered in connection with the sale plus another US$419,327 related to a Change in Control Agreement he had with the company.
He will remain on as a director of Allied Esports while his employment contract with the WPT has been transferred to Element Partners.
The WPT has long been one of the world’s leading poker brands and is credited with helping spark the global poker boom of the early 2000s via its ground-breaking late night tournament broadcasts. Its array of live events features tournament series through Asia including in Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Philippines, Cambodia, India, Australia and Taiwan.
