Aquilini GameCo Inc. has raised $25,000,200 in hopes of acquiring Toronto-based esports organisation Luminosity Gaming through a reverse takeover of J55 Capital Corp. for “strategic growth initiatives, working capital and general corporate purposes.”
Canaccord Genuity Corp. acted as the sole agent for the raising of the finances, in accordance with an agency agreement that’s dated March 20th.
The reverse takeover was proposed with a Letter of Intent dated February 22nd. The investment firm has wholly owned ice hockey team Vancouver Canucks and its venue, The Rogers Arena, since November 8th, 2006.
If Aquilini GameCo. is successful with the reverse takeover of J55 Capital Corp., Luminosity Gaming and Vancouver Titans could become publicly-tradable assets on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Completion of the acquisition is subject to a number of conditions, one of which being receiving TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) approval from shareholders and so on.
Luminosity Gaming became a partner of Vancouver Titans, the Overwatch League franchise owned by Aquilini Investment Group, in October last year. The deal saw the esports organisation handle the operations of the franchise.
One of the 16 teams in Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty World League, Luminosity Gaming stormed the competition at CWL Fort Worth on May 3rd-5th. The event followed recent reports of franchising being implemented into the first-person shooter series, following in the footsteps of the Overwatch League.
It currently fields competitors in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Call of Duty, Fortnite, SMITE, and Madden 19, and is partnered with Universal Music Canada, SCUF Gaming, Twitch, and META Threads.
Luminosity Gaming declined to comment on the development.
Esports Insider says: Now this is interesting. Not only would Luminosity Gaming receive significant investment from a major firm, but it has the potential to be one of the first esports organisations to become publicly traded – possibly marking new ground in the industry. This is an acquisition to keep an eye on for the foreseeable future.