Torque Moving Forward With UMG Acquisition

The recently re-branded Torque Esports Corp. [stock_market_widget type="inline" template="generic" color="default" assets="GAME.V" markup="(TSXV: {symbol} {currency_symbol}{price} ({change_pct}))" api="yf"] [stock_market_widget type="inline" template="generic" color="default" assets="MLLLF" markup="(OTCQB: {symbol} {currency_symbol}{price} ({change_pct}))" api="yf"] is moving ahead with a previously announced acquisition of competitive gaming prize company UMG Media Ltd. [stock_market_widget type="inline" template="generic" color="default" assets="ESPT.V" markup="(TSXV: {symbol} {currency_symbol}{price} ({change_pct}))" api="yf"].

Following first news of the planned buyout arriving last month, both companies have now signed a definitive agreement formalizing the terms of the deal.

The all-stock acquisition deal will see Torque issuing 4.3 million shares, with UMG shareholders receiving 0.08 shares of Torque in exchange for their UMG shares.

Before the deal closes, UMG additionally plans to complete a non-brokered private placement of $1.2 million in shares, with the company’s senior management covering $300,000 of that funding.

Current UMG shareholders will vote on the terms of the deal at a special meeting on Dec. 17, after which the acquisition will still need to meet regulatory and stock exchange approval before officially closing.

Torque formerly operated under the name Millennial Esports Corp and recently received shareholder approval to change names as the company puts a bigger emphasis on the racing side of eSports events and data collection.

Working towards that new direction, earlier this year the company acquired a majority stake in online racing resource DriverDB through a cash-and-stock deal.

With DriverDB under the Torque banner, the online database just saw an extension to include eSports data in addition to the previous real-world racing metrics.

Through the newly added eSports section, DriverDB now features virtual race info and driver rankings that will be used as part of the World’s Fastest Gamer competition.

Commenting on that new change, Torque Chief Executive Officer Darren Cox had this to say:

We’re taking respected and refined platforms and structures from real-world racing and applying them to eSports. This is just one of those crossovers – there are several more coming. A central results and ranking service is long overdue and can only be delivered by a company that has credibility in the space, and Driver Database has that in spades after 15 years of providing this service.

Aside from picking up 51% of DriverDB back in September, Torque also snapped up a majority stake in UK-based YouTube motorsports channel LetsGoRacing in another cash and stock deal.

Ty Arthur has spent the last decade of his journalism career covering everything from cutting-edge tech to local news through outlets such as the Houston Chronicle. He has focused on the counterculture aspects of society, from marijuana legalization to underground music through Metalunderground.com and rapidly changing trends in the entertainment industry. He lives in the cold, dark north with his wife and son. Address: 682 Indian Road, Toronto, Ontario, M6P 2C9. Phone: 416-721-8257.

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