Allied Esports Finds New Allies, Acquired by Black Ridge

Black Ridge Acquisition Corp. and Ourgame International Holdings Ltd. announced a deal that will see Black Ridge acquire two of Ourgame’s global esports and entertainment assets, Allied Esports International, Inc. and WPT Enterprises, Inc. The combined company will be renamed Allied Esports Entertainment, Inc. and serve as an esports entertainment company “dedicated to providing world-class in-person experiences, multiplatform content and interactive services to the global video gaming community through a unique fusion of two leaders in the esports and entertainment industries, Allied Esports and WPT.

According to the announcement, AESE will look to amplify Allied Esports’ ongoing efforts 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. Through those experiences, the company will look to continue to create original content that is shared with millions of viewers across partner distribution platforms, including digital, traditional and social media. Finally, AESE plans to scale its interactive services through the development of a proprietary online platform to deliver branded entertainment for participants and viewers globally.

Lyle Berman, Director of Black Ridge, who is expected to be the Chairman of the Board of AESE upon closing of the transaction 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.”

Upon completion of the transaction, AESE is expected to be led by 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. This leadership group brings AESE a wealth of experience across gaming, entertainment and esports, with a proven track record of successfully operating high-growth public companies. Jud Hannigan will continue his role as CEO of Allied Esports and Pliska will continue to serve as president and CEO of WPT.

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,” said Frank Ng, who will step down as CEO of Ourgame to lead AESE under the same title. “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.”