Canadian Venture capital firm Blackhawk Resource Corporation announced a $26.4 million deal to acquire esports platform UMG Media Corp., which will now be rebranded as UMG Media Ltd.
Blackhawk already owned 19.2 percent of UMG and has now agreed to buy the remaining 80.8 percent from UMG’s shareholders, as part of a reverse merger takeover. UMG shareholders will be issued approximately 220 million Blackhawk shares, 84 percent of the total, at a deemed price of $0.12 per share, tallying up to $26.4 million. This brings Blackhawk’s valuation to nearly $31.5 million.
UMG recorded a net comprehensive loss of $2.7 million in 2017, reported assets worth $11.2 million, and had estimated working capital of $3.38 million, as of Jan. 31, 2018.
Blackhawk is now valuated at $31.5 million.
Founded in 2012, UMG is best known as a console shooter tournament organizer. Specialized mainly on Call of Duty, the company used to run the title’s biggest tournaments, until the CoD World League was founded and replaced UMG’s tournaments as the top CoD series. Ever since, UMG’s main business operation is UMG Gaming, a platform for online tournaments and matchmaking, which, according to the company, has 1.9 million registered members. It focuses mainly on Call of Dutyand sports simulators, like FIFA, Madden, and NBA 2K.
UMG’s upper management will remain the same, with CEO Dave Anthony, president Jeff Covington, and COO Martin Brown, while according to the new proposal, OpTic Gaming’s CEO, Hector Rodriguez, has been offered a seat in the board of directors. Rodriguez, a professional Call of Duty player in the past who competed in UMG’s tournaments, was a UMG shareholder.
