Adrienne Anderson
SharpLink Gaming Ltd. Completes Domestication Merger with SharpLink Gaming, Inc.
SharpLink Gaming Ltd. (Nasdaq: SBET) (“SharpLink Israel”) today announced that effective today, February 13, 2024, SharpLink Israel has completed its previously announced change of jurisdiction of incorporation from Israel to the State of Delaware through an agreement and plan of merger (“Merger Agreement”) with SharpLink Gaming, Inc. (“SharpLink US”).
Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, which was approved by shareholders at an Extraordinary Meeting of Shareholders held on December 6, 2023, SharpLink Merger Sub Ltd., an Israeli company and a wholly owned subsidiary of SharpLink US, has merged with and into SharpLink Israel, with SharpLink Israel surviving the merger and becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of SharpLink US.
Each outstanding ordinary and preferred share of SharpLink Israel will automatically be exchanged for one share of SharpLink US’s common stock or preferred stock, as applicable, and all outstanding options and warrants to purchase ordinary shares of SharpLink Israel will convert to the options and warrants to purchase the same number of shares of common stock of SharpLink US under similar terms. For more detailed information regarding the domestication merger, please refer to the definitive proxy statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on October 23, 2023.
SharpLink US’s common stock will commence trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the same trading symbol, SBET, effective at the market open tomorrow, February 14, 2024. The new CUSIP number for SharpLink US’ common stock is 820014108.
Changes to Board of Directors
In connection with the completion of the domestication merger, Joseph Housman, Paul Abdo, Scott Pollei and Thomas Doering resigned as directors of SharpLink Israel and SharpLink US.
Remaining on the SharpLink US board is Rob Phythian, CEO of SharpLink US, who has also been appointed as SharpLink US’ new Chairman; and Adrienne Anderson, an independent member of the Board, who will also serve as Chair of SharpLink US’s Audit Committee and as a member of the Compensation Committee.
Obie McKenzie and Leslie Bernhard have been newly appointed to serve as independent members of SharpLink US’ Board of Directors. McKenzie will also serve as Chair of the Compensation Committee and member of the Audit Committee; and Bernhard will serve as a member of both the Audit and Compensation Committees.
Adrienne Anderson
SharpLink Gaming Announces Board and Audit Committee Changes
Company Welcomes Sports, Entertainment and Media Icon,
Robert Gutkowski, to Board of Directors
SharpLink Gaming, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBET) (“SharpLink” or the “Company”) today announced recent changes to its Board of Directors (the “Board”) and Audit Committee.
On February 16, 2024, the Board accepted the resignation of Adrienne Anderson as a director, Chair of the Audit Committee and member of the Compensation Committee, effective February 16, 2024. The resignation of Anderson was not the result of any disagreement with the Company, its management, the Board or any committee of the Board. The Board subsequently elected Leslie Bernhard, a current member of the Board, to serve as the new Chairperson of the Audit Committee, effective February 16, 2024.
In addition, the Board elected Robert Gutkowski as a new director and appointed him to serve as a member of the Audit and Compensation Committees, effective immediately.
Over a career spanning more than five decades, Gutkowski has proven to be a significant asset builder in the sports, entertainment and media industries. Among his key achievements was the landmark New York Yankees-Madison Square Garden Network $486 million cable distribution deal. This transaction forever changed the sports economic landscape, increased the value of the MSG Network by nearly 2,000%, and enabled the Yankees to dominate Major League Baseball media during the past two decades. In addition, he was the original architect behind radio entrepreneur Bob Sillerman’s roll-up of regional, independent concert promoters, which created SFX Entertainment – the first nationwide, vertically-integrated, concert promotion company widely recognized for transforming the multi-billion dollar live music concert industry.
From October 2014 through the present, Gutkowski has led RMG Sports Ventures LLC, a company he founded to originate and advise private equity and other institutional capital on investments in sports, entertainment and media. He recently co-originated the acquisition of True Temper Sports (the largest producer of golf shafts in the world) for Lincolnshire Management and made a substantial investment alongside Lincolnshire in True Temper.
In December 1991, Gutkowski was named President of Madison Square Garden, where he was responsible for the operations of the New York Knicks basketball team; the New York Rangers hockey team – which won the 1994 Stanley Cup Championship; MSG Communications – including the MSG Network, the nation’s largest regional cable network; MSG Entertainment and the MSG Facilities Group, which operated The Garden Arena and The Paramount Theater. He originally joined Madison Square Garden in 1985 and over the next six years held various senior executive positions, including President of the MSG Network. Under his leadership, the subscriber base of the MSG Network – the oldest and largest regional sports network in the country – more than doubled to 5.1 million subscribers. The Yankees, together with the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers, became the foundations of MSG Network’s year-round operation. In 1993 and 1994, the Garden was the most active building in the country in bookings and revenues and was named “Arena of the Year” by Pollstar Magazine.
In 1996, Gutkowski founded The Marquee Group, a worldwide sports and entertainment firm that managed, produced and marketed sports and entertainment events, as well as provided representation for athletes, entertainers and broadcasters. The Marquee Group, which became a public company in 1996, acquired many related companies, including Athletes and Artists, Sports Marketing and Television International, QBQ Entertainment, Tollin-Robbins Productions, Park Associates, Alphabet City Records, Cambridge Golf and ProServ, before being acquired by SFX Entertainment in 1999 for over $100 million.
Gutkowski is a graduate of Hofstra University, where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree.
Commenting on the Board changes, Rob Phythian, Chairman and CEO of SharpLink, stated, “There are no words to adequately express our appreciation to Adrienne for the sound and thoughtful guidance and support she has provided our leadership while serving as a director on the board of SharpLink Gaming, Ltd. since July 2021. I’m also very pleased to welcome new director Bob Gutkowski to our team. A true industry visionary renowned for his strategic brilliance, love of sports and big league deal-making success, Bob is an incredible addition to our Board and is a director whose experience will undoubtedly prove invaluable to SharpLink as we move our Company forward.”
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