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Leading Mobile Entertainment Company Jam City to Become Publicly Traded Company Through Merger with DPCM Capital, Inc

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Jam City, Inc., a leading mobile entertainment company behind some of the world’s highest grossing and most enduring mobile games, and DPCM Capital, Inc., a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company led by Emil Michael, announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement that will result in Jam City becoming a publicly listed company. The transaction values the combined company at an enterprise value of $1.2 billion. Upon closing, the combined company will operate as Jam City Holdings, Inc. and its Class A common stock is expected to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “JAM”.

In conjunction with the closing of the business combination, Jam City will use the cash proceeds to acquire a leading Montreal-based mobile game publisher Ludia, Inc. (“Ludia”) from FremantleMedia Canada Inc. (“Fremantle”), bringing together two highly creative leaders in mobile gaming and further strengthening Jam City’s market position and global player network. The combined company’s well-balanced, diversified portfolio of critically acclaimed, top grossing games is expected to include Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery; Cookie Jam; Panda Pop; and Jurassic World Alive. It is also expected to benefit from a strong pipeline of tentpole owned and licensed game releases with leading brands such as DC, and some of Disney’s biggest brands, which are expected to accelerate organic growth for the next several years.

“We have built and are scaling one of the world’s leading mobile entertainment platforms by bringing art – including storylines, characters and game mechanics – together with a powerful technology platform that leverages data to drive user acquisition and live game operations,” said Chris DeWolfe, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Jam City. “We expect going public will provide us with a source of capital to accelerate our growth and advance our strategic priorities, while acquiring and teaming up with Ludia adds compelling new intellectual property and gaming genres to our catalog. Together, we believe these transactions will advance our vision to create premium, social mobile games that are an enduring part of our players’ lives.”

The combined company will be led by Chris DeWolfe and the rest of Jam City’s highly experienced management team including co-Founder, President and Chief Operating Officer Josh Yguado, and Chief Financial Officer Jae Yu. Denmark West, founding partner and Chief Investment Officer of Connectivity Ventures and former executive at BET, Viacom Media Networks and Microsoft, will join the combined company’s Board of Directors. Existing Jam City stockholders are expected to own approximately 65% of the outstanding shares of Class A common stock of the combined company at close, assuming no redemptions by DPCM Capital stockholders. Netmarble Corporation (“Netmarble”), Jam City’s valued strategic investor, will own a significant portion of the combined company.

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A group of leading institutional investors, along with Netmarble, DPCM’s sponsor, and members of the combined company management teams have committed to a private investment of $100 million in Class A common stock of the combined company that will close concurrently with the business combination and, subject to any redemptions by DPCM Capital’s shareholders, there is approximately $300 million currently held in DPCM Capital’s trust account. Proceeds from the transaction will be used to finance the $175 million acquisition of Ludia from Fremantle, provide liquidity to an early investor, and pay fees and expenses associated with the transaction. It is expected that the combined company will have approximately $115 million of cash on its balance sheet, which is anticipated to be used to accelerate growth by introducing new games that appeal to broad global audiences, continuing to enhance its proprietary technology, and pursuing future M&A opportunities and other strategic initiatives.

“We believe our central technology platform, Jam City Live, is what sets us apart and provides us with a sustainable competitive advantage by driving performance and growth to create enduring franchises,” said Yguado. “We believe that games are the next-generation of social engagement, and that our longstanding relationships throughout the global gaming ecosystem provide us access to a rich pipeline of untapped, accretive growth opportunities that we are poised to capitalize on.”

“We believe Jam City is at the forefront of mobile gaming, and its unique Games-as-a-Service model has proven to sustain player retention and drive monetization,” said Emil Michael, Chairman and CEO of DPCM Capital. “We are proud to partner with Chris, Josh and the team in their efforts to continue Jam City’s growth and further define the company as a category-defining entertainment brand.”

Combined Company Overview

As a well-capitalized leader in mobile entertainment, we believe Jam City is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the large, fast-growing global mobile gaming market, a market which includes more than 2.7 billion players and that is expected to exceed $205 billion in revenue by 2023, according to Newzoo.

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Jam City benefits from a world-class talent base, a global studio network and a proprietary technology platform that enables it to consistently deliver deep, rich and engaging mobile entertainment experiences that appeal to fans around the world. In addition to introducing new game franchises, Jam City has fueled growth through a successful and scalable M&A strategy that involves acquiring assets and studios that have created deep entertainment experiences and leveraging Jam City Live to improve game performance.

With the addition of Ludia, Jam City’s game portfolio will include seven forever franchises, which it considers its most enduring games with at least $100 million in lifetime bookings and receive ongoing Jam City support. Our forever franchises are anticipated to include Cookie Jam; Panda Pop; Genies & Gems; Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery; Bingo Pop; Disney Emoji Blitz[1]; and Jurassic World games (Jurassic World: The Game, Jurassic World Alive).[2] These franchises are diversified across game genres and types of intellectual property, with no single game contributing more than 20% of Jam City’s and Ludia’s combined $570 million total bookings in 2020. By leveraging its strengths to improve performance across Ludia’s portfolio, Jam City expects to generate $868 million in bookings and $112 million in Adjusted EBITDA in 2022, representing 23% and 30% CAGRs, respectively, from 2019 to 2022E.

“Joining forces with Jam City enables us to leverage their technology platform to further enhance performance across our portfolio and collaborate on exciting new projects,” said Alex Thabet, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ludia. “This combination is expected to benefit our collective stakeholders and create new avenues for sustained growth.”
In 2020, Jam City was a top 10-featured game publisher in the U.S. across the App Store and Google Play. Together with Ludia, Jam City has built an engaged global player network of 31 million monthly active users and 1.3 billion cumulative game installs as of fourth quarter of 2020. Jam City and Ludia also generated a combined 3 billion total hours played and 9 billion advertising impressions last year.

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Canada

ComeOn Group adds sportsbook to its offering in Ontario

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ComeOn Group announced a significant milestone in its sportsbook expansion journey with the addition of sportsbook to their offering in Ontario following the successful acquisition of the required permits. This addition represents a strategic advancement in the Groups sportsbook growth trajectory where they are set to double its sportsbook business in the coming years.

ComeOn Group is one of 51 active operators in Ontario. The Ontario market has experienced robust growth since its launch, reaching C$6.7 billion in revenue in 2023.* By 2029, the market is forecasted to grow by a total of 29%, with 2024 expected to close with a 20% increase.

ComeOn keeps investing in its sportsbook business acceleration that is powered by its proprietary sportsbook platform and in-house risk management and trading team. As a multi product vertical operator, ComeOn is striving to give its customer base a safe and exciting entertainment destination and this approach is now expanded to their Ontario audience.

Juergen Reutter, Chief Executive Officer at ComeOn Group, said: “We are very excited about the opportunities this new milestone opens up for us. As a casino-led operator it represents a key part of our sportsbook strategy to double our business in the coming years. Like in any of our other markets, we are striving for a differentiated sportsbook entertainment experience that is powered by our in-house technology. Our goal is to deliver top-tier entertainment to our players while fostering safe and innovative gaming experiences.”

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*Source – H2GC H2 Ontario Data 25.10.2024 (excl. Lottery)

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BCLC

INTRALOT Announces New Project with the British Columbia Lottery Corporation for Online Lottery Platform

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INTRALOT S.A. has announced the undertaking of a new project between the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), the sole lottery operator for the Government of British Columbia in Canada, and INTRALOT Inc., its US subsidiary, for the provision of an online lottery platform. The project also includes the digitalization of the existing land-based network.

The solution will be based on the Player X platform, part of the Lotos X ecosystem, and adds to the company’s overall partnership with BCLC, which has been extended until 2028.

INTRALOT is a leading player in a changing world of gaming. With significant experience in looking forward and anticipating emerging trends, the company provides future-proof solutions to regulated lottery and gaming operators around the world.

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Canada

IAGR announces Toronto as host city for 2025 conference

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Hot on the heels of its most attended conference in history, the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) is excited to announce that its 2025 conference will take place in Toronto, Canada, from October 20 to 23, 2025.

The event will be held in partnership with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) at the Westin Harbour Castle, offering stunning waterfront views and a premier, downtown Toronto location.

‘Fresh off the success of our Rome conference, we’re thrilled to continue the momentum with next year’s event in Toronto,’ said Ben Haden, IAGR President.

‘The IAGR 2025 conference promises to be another unparalleled opportunity for our global community to come together, collaborate and shape the future of gaming regulation. We’re looking forward to working with AGCO to bring it all together.’

AGCO CEO and Registrar Dr. Karin Schnarr, added, ‘We’re excited to welcome IAGR and its members to Toronto. This partnership provides a great opportunity to share Ontario’s innovative regulatory practices and foster meaningful discussions that drive positive change in the industry.’

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Stay tuned for registration details early next year.

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