Credit: Allied Esports/ Simon Property Group
Mentioned in this article
- Simon Property Group is acquiring $5M USD in shares of Black Ridge Acquisition Group, which signed a definitive agreement to acquire Allied Esports and World Poker Tour from Ourgame International in December of last year.
- Allied Esports will collaborate on the development of dedicated esports venues and experiences at select Simon locations throughout the U.S.
- A new competition tour called The Simon Cup will launch in Fall 2019 with the HyperX Esports Truck.
American commercial real estate company Simon Property Group, through its subsidiary Simon Equity Development, LLC, announced that it is acquiring $5M in Black Ridge Acquisition Corp. shares. The acquisition would allow Simon, the largest shopping mall operator in the U.S., direct access to Allied Esports 
.
In December of last year, Black Ridge Acquisition Corp. entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Ourgame’s International’s Allied Esports and WPT Enterprises. That deal still requires approval from investors, shareholders, and regulatory agencies. Once approved, Allied Esports International and the World Poker Tour will form a combined company named Allied Esports Entertainment and will be traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the stock ticker symbol “AESE.”
The Simon Cup, a co-branded esports competition and gaming tournament festival, will debut this fall at select Simon locations in NYC and Los Angeles markets. The activation will make use of the HyperX Esports truck, Allied Esports’ mobile arena. The Simon Cup will include regional tournaments both online and in-person that culminate in a Grand Final at the HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas.
Additional details surrounding The Simon Cup, such as which game(s) competitors would play, were not disclosed.
Select Simon-owned malls will also be outfitted with “integrated gaming venues and production facilities” that are designed to host tournaments as well as daily use by consumers. These “in-mall arenas” will have the capacity to be expanded into common areas for larger esports activations and live events, according to a release.
Related Article: Allied Esports Launches Property Network for Dedicated Gaming Venues
“Simon’s commitment and investment in our growing esports ecosystem will immediately strengthen our foundation for creating live experiences and compelling content for gamers and fans around the world,” said Frank Ng, co-CEO of Ourgame International, owner of Allied Esports. “We are thrilled for the opportunity to work closely with the forward-thinking team at Simon to design specialized mall-based esports concepts that we hope will attract new audiences and partners through their network and enhance our global presence.”
This is the second investment announcement for Allied Esports this month. On June 20, Mexican TV network TV Azteca announced that it would make a $5M equity investment into Black Ridge Acquisition Corporation to become a shareholder of Allied Esports, with plans for the companies to work together on several initiatives.
