FaZe shareholders to vote on GameSquare merger next week
One of the biggest questions on the business side of Counter-Strike esports will finally reach an answer when FaZe shareholders vote on February 16th. The board of directors of FaZe have unanimously supported and encouraged shareholders to agree on a merger with GameSquare, the owners of Complexity.
The prospective merger was first announced in late October 2023 when GameSquare announced they would acquire FaZe in an all-stock transaction. The agreement would see FaZe fall under GameSquare as the company stock would account for approximately 45% of the firm's ownership, valuing the company at roughly $16.0 million. It is a far cry from the initial billion dollars the company believed they were valued at before the SPAC went public.
The deal was initially expected to close before the end of 2023, however that was later moved to February 15th. Now, the vote on the official transaction is February 16th.
While this deal has been coming to completion, Jason Lake has reportedly been searching for outside investment as he looks to re-acquire Complexity from GameSquare. Due to the potential conflict of interest between the Complexity and FaZe Counter-Strike divisions, it's thought that one of the two teams would need to be divested from GameSquare's ownership.
In a podcast episode released today with Tyler "Ninja" Blevins, GameSquare CEO Justin Kenna revealed that GameSquare has acquired a Super Bowl ad to celebrate the upcoming merger. The ad will feature Jerry Jones as part of a major ad campaign to push forward GameSquare's position in the esports space.