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Bally’s Makes $100M Play for Allied Esports Entertainment
By Shane Addinall Mar 10, 2021 IndustryAllied Esports Entertainment’s deal for the sale of the World Poker Tour to Element Partners may be interrupted by Bally’s Corporation’s $100 million offer to acquire the Esporting concern lock stock and barrel. Read on to learn more.In what seems like a move to bolster its digital footprint, casino magnate, Bally’s Corporation, has made an unsolicited offer of $100 million to acquire Allied Esports Entertainment, Inc. This comes only weeks before the conclusion of Allied’s announced deal to sell the World Poker Tour to the investment company, Element Partners. The current deal is due to conclude at the end of March 2021.
Should the Esports company decide to accept Bally’s offer, it would necessitate termination of its current deal with Element Partners worth $78.25 million, in what would seem like a last-minute turnaround.
Allied Esports Entertainment, Inc, however, is on track with the current deal and is yet to fully evaluate the new offer on the table. The company’s official statement said:
‘’There can be no assurance that the company will enter into a definitive agreement with Bally’s or consummate any transaction with Bally’s.
The company’s Board of Directors, consistent with its duties and the company’s obligations under its existing agreement with Element, will evaluate Bally’s proposal in due course. The company and Element continue to discuss potential updates to the current terms of their agreement.”
While Allied Esports remains coy in the public eye about the new offer, the proposed deal on the table will certainly give the board of directors much to think about going forward.
What is on the Table?
Bally’s Corporation’s offer to buy the Nasdaq-traded Esporting company includes additional clauses to ease the minds of Allied’s investors. Firstly, the deal includes a $10 million reverse break-fee, which would be payable by Bally’s should it break the deal for any reason. This is a positive foot forward and a fine move to win over the potential seller’s confidence.
Secondly, they have offered to cover the termination fee of $3 million if Allied rescinds its agreement with Element Partners so that there is no unnecessary loss incurred on Allied’s part.
The $100 million offer is payable in various ways at the selling company’s option. They could choose to accept a cash purchase, accept shares in Bally’s capital stock, or a combination of the two options.
At this moment, Allied’s board of directors continues to rally the company’s stockholders to approve the transaction with Element Partners. The Esporting brand has already filed its intentions with the SEC and has sent its shareholders a Consent Solicitation Statement.
What is Bally’s Angle?
Bally’s is a prominent name in the betting business in the United States, with eleven casinos, a horse racetrack, and thirteen off-track betting licenses in Colorado. Like many land-based casino owners, the company has realised the value of online entertainment and is making strident steps to capitalise in this arena.
2020 was a difficult year for the brick-and-mortar gambling establishments, but online casinos soared as more and more gamblers moved to the digital space to get their betting fixes. This year’s interest in the Egaming space is seemingly another strategic move to broaden the group’s online presence.
Bally’s has recently made decisive steps to get its foot in the door over the last few months with two large acquisitions in the digital sphere. In November 2020, it moved to acquire Bet.Works for $125 million and 2021 has seen it purchase a free-to-play game provider called SportCaller.
The company has revealed its intention to secure a spot in the daily fantasy sports scene too, with interest in the Monkey Knife Fight platform. All indicators in global business realms right now point to the fact that the online market is certainly the way of the future.
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