SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Entain has secured yet another inroad on its M&A crusade, as Tidal Gaming Group has announced that the sale of its Sportsflare subsidiary to the global gambling company has been completed.
The acquisition – described by Entain at the time as ‘arms length’ – was first announced in March 2023 at a purchasing price of $13.25m for all assets of Sportsflare, which is registered as Tidal Gaming NZ.
Terms of the completed sale will see Tidal hold the $13.25m for a holding period of 180 days, and may access the funds to satisfy any capital adjustment or claims brought by Entain and up to 20% to pay transaction related costs.
A Sportsflare statement elaborated: “The board of directors of the Company will assess the available options to return capital received pursuant to the sale of Sportsflare to its shareholders following the expiry of the Holding Period.
“Any such options will be subject to the receipt of corporate, securities and tax laws advice, and will be subject to the receipt of all required shareholder, regulatory and Canadian Securities Exchange approvals. There can be no assurances that any such options will be implemented by the company.”
Further details of the closing transaction include a grant of 2,500,000 restricted shares to Tidal CEO Thomas Hearne, pursuant to an employment agreement.
A further 1,910,700 shares will be distributed to Sportsflare staff ‘in satisfaction of the earn out entitlements achieved’ according to the asset purchase. Following these share issuances, Spotsflare has 87,603,908 common shares issued and outstanding.
Back in March, Hearne stated the Sportsflare holding would become a ‘great fit with Entain’s strong presence in the industry’, and added that the firm’s board of directors was confident of the takeover as ‘the best long-term solution’ for the brand.
The acquisition further strengthens Entain’s standing in international esports, as well as in North America, where Tidal is a CSE-listed business. Sportsflare has built up its own presence in esports, having partnered with prominent firms such as Bayes.
Entain has been eyeing up opportunities in both esports and the Americas as of late, having acquired the Unirkn platform last year and relaunching it in Brazil – identified as a priority market by Group CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen as a priority market – earlier this year.
The competition of the sale marks yet another major development for Entain, which just this week unveiled plans and projections for its partnership with TAB NZ and newly acquired holding 365scores.
