Canada
New Wave Esports Completes Acquisition of Even Matchup Gaming
NEW WAVE ESPORTS CORP. is pleased to announce it has completed the acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Even Matchup Gaming Inc. not previously held by New Wave Esports. New Wave Esports previously held an 18% stake in EMG. EMG is an esports events production and broadcast company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
EMG highlights include:
A Toronto-based leading esports and competitive gaming event organizer, broadcaster, and player management company that produces onsite and online tournaments.
Focused on producing events within the fighting game community (FGC), such as Super Smash Bros., Street Fighter V, Tekken 7, Dragon Ball FighterZ, and more.
Hosts 80+ events per year with two major events, Get On My Level and Let’s Make Moves.
Get On My Level, an annual Super Smash Bros. tournament with an official Nintendo partnership, saw 2,100+ attendees and just under 1M livestream views on twitch.tv during its 2019 event – with projected increased attendance and viewership for its 2020 event.
Let’s Make Big Moves, another annualized FGC event, saw just over 1,000 attendees with 344k+ Twitch impressions for its 2020 event.
An annual growing audience of 7,400+ attendees, 25.8M+ social impressions, 5.5M+ YouTube views, and 1.8M+ Twitch livestream views.
“The EMG team is excited to be another wholly-owned company in the New Wave Esports portfolio,” says Joe Cribari, CEO of Even Matchup Gaming. “We have a great opportunity to build on the momentum of our existing 80+ annual live events as we reimagine esports event experiences in the fighting game community and beyond. By working with New Wave Esports’ other accretive portfolio companies, we are accelerating our business strategy by expanding through North America in 2020. We are looking forward to working closely with Dan Mitre and his team who share our vision and passion to grow the esports industry, starting with our passionate community.”
“We’re honored to welcome Even Matchup Gaming to the New Wave Esports family,” said Daniel Mitre, CEO of New Wave Esports. “The company that Joe Cribari and his team has built has retained its roots with the fighting game community, and has maintained steady year-over-year revenue and audience growth. EMG’s addition to our portfolio positions us as one of the premiere Super Smash Bros. and FGC tournament organizers within the esports industry. As we look further into 2020, we are excited to expand EMG’s presence throughout North America as we bring additional major events to key cities in the United States and Canada.”
Pursuant to the definitive share purchase agreement entered into on November 28, 2019, the consideration payable to the vendors of EMG is an aggregate of $1,230,000, payable in a combination of $550,000 cash (the “Cash Consideration”) and 7,555,555 common shares in the capital of the Company (the “Consideration Shares”) issued on February 7, 2020 at a deemed price per Consideration Share of $0.09. The Cash Consideration is payable in tranches, with $350,000 paid on February 7, 2020 and the remainder to be paid in installments over the six months following February 7, 2020. A portion of the Consideration Shares is subject to a contractual lock-up and will be released to the vendors of EMG in installments over twelve months following the closing of the Acquisition. Additional details on the Acquisition can be found in the CSE Form 9 of the Company posted in connection with the Acquisition.
ABOUT EVEN MATCHUP GAMING INC.
In March 2019, New Wave Esports acquired an 18% equity stake in Even Matchup Gaming, a Toronto-based leading esports and competitive gaming event organizer, broadcaster, and player management company that facilitates online and live tournaments. The company’s tournament operator model is integral to the esports industry ecosystem as it is scalable and rapidly growing. Even Matchup Gaming’s focus on fighting games uniquely positions the company in an important emerging sector of esports. The company produces over 80 events per year with 500 events hosted to date on local, regional, and national levels, including Canada’s large fighting game tournament Get On My Level and Tristate’s largest Super Smash Bros. tournament, Let’s Make Moves. They leverage strategic partnerships and sponsorships with endemic and non-endemic brands such as Nintendo, Red Bull, and BENQ.