Bet99 is endorsed by Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews
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“Our vision for Kings has always been to build leadership positions within each of the regulated jurisdictions that we enter, and this agreement will certainly accelerate that goal within the Canadian landscape and beyond,” CEO Steve Budin said in the press release.
Bet99 is run by BQC Consulting GmbH, the Swiss subsidiary of Toronto-based Sports Venture Holdings Inc., which also owns a numbered company in Ontario that has applied for a licence from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario to market BET99.ca to Ontario residents, according to the press release.
Kings Entertainment will issue shares to Sports Venture’s owners that value Kings shares at 21 cents a piece, a 13.5 per cent premium over their market value when the agreement was announced on May 24.
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Jared Beber, chief executive of Sports Venture Holdings and Bet99, will run the merged company, if shareholders and regulators approve the deal. Sports Venture shareholders would control about 87 per cent of the merged company.
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Budin would run Kings Entertainment’s LottoKings brand and take an advisory role at the new parent company.
“Merging with an internationally recognized online betting veteran such as Kings is a natural next step for SVH,” Beber said in the press release. “Bringing the Bet99 brand to the public capital markets, through Kings’ CSE and (over-the-counter) listings, will not only support expansion by engaging a much broader investor base, but will also build the Bet99 brand with an even wider audience of betting enthusiasts.
Shares of Kings Entertainment, which trade on the Canadian Securities Exchange, have declined about 50 per cent since they debuted on the CSE composite index in late January, compared with a 30-per-cent drop for the broader index. Trading was halted as the combination constituted a “fundamental change” and will remain halted until the CSE decides trading can resume, the press release said.
