Allied Esports exploring options, including possible arena sale

Allied Esports is exploring options for the company’s future, including perchance exiting the concern and selling its HyperX Esports Arena connected the Las Vegas Strip.

Allied Esports Entertainment has enlisted Minneapolis-based concern banking steadfast Lake Street Capital Markets to counsel the institution connected what to bash with its esports business, including a imaginable sale, institution President and CEO Claire Wu told investors connected a Monday net call.

She said the Irvine, California-based amusement institution has started to “accelerate” its plans to research a imaginable sale, present that it has completed the merchantability of its erstwhile World Poker Tour concern for $105 cardinal to Element Partners, LLC.

Esports’ popularity maturation during the pandemic has extracurricular companies funny successful Allied Esports, Wu said. Allied Esports hasn’t identified a purchaser and isn’t presently negotiating a sale. However, she said, the institution is assessing its options and aboriginal concern model.

Those options see selling 1 oregon much of its esports assets, including the 30,000-square-foot HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas astatine Luxor, oregon the esports concern arsenic a whole, institution spokesperson Brian Fisher said successful a Monday evening email.

The arena was viewed as the imaginable crown jewel of Allied Esports upon its opening successful 2018. However, the HyperX arena’s mean lawsuit is 16, not yet aged capable to bid a portion oregon play the slots. A sheet of esports experts astatine a caller gaming exposition criticized the arena for a deficiency of programming and follow-up concern aft its archetypal launch.

There’s nary timetable for erstwhile oregon whether Allied Esports sells its esports business. Allied Esports volition proceed moving its esports concern successful the meantime, Wu said Monday.

“We’re not benignant of boxed successful to person to bash a peculiar woody nether a peculiar timeframe, and past person to bash it nether mediocre economical woody terms,” Chief Financial Officer Tony Hung added connected the call.

Set for a shift

Allied Esports intends to usage its currency from the poker circuit merchantability and immoderate esports merchantability for a displacement to online entertainment, existent wealth gaming oregon different gaming sectors, Wu said. She added that going guardant the institution isn’t joined to immoderate 1 manufacture oregon geographic location, and that its perfect people institution would person a proven concern exemplary and an experienced absorption team.

Wu’s predecessor, Frank Ng, archetypal announced successful January that Allied Esports had reached a woody to merchantability the poker concern and that the institution was considering an esports sale.

The World Poker Tour merchantability closed connected July 12. Ng resigned arsenic CEO the adjacent day. Wu, who joined the company’s committee of directors connected May 6, filled the vacancy.

She was antecedently the vice president and wide counsel of Asia Pacific Capital, Inc., and elder counsel astatine New York-based instrumentality steadfast Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP.

Allied Esports mislaid a nett $2.94 cardinal during the 2nd fiscal quarter, spanning April to June, compared with a nonaccomplishment of $10.88 cardinal during the 2nd 4th past year. The institution mislaid a nett $6.28 cardinal during the archetypal six months of the year. Last twelvemonth the institution mislaid a nett $19.66 cardinal successful the aforesaid stretch.

Allied Esports generated $824,609 successful revenues during the 2nd fiscal quarter, spanning April to June, compared with $620,462 successful the aforesaid clip past year. In-person revenues accounted for $670,886 of its quarterly total.

The institution generated $1.33 cardinal successful gross during the archetypal fractional of 2021; $1.68 cardinal during the archetypal fractional of past year.

Shares of Allied Esports, traded arsenic $AESE connected the Nasdaq, fell 2.91 percent to $2 astatine close.

Contact Mike Shoro astatine mshoro@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro connected Twitter.