Activision Blizzard has acquired Major League Gaming (MLG), which was once the largest eSports company in all of North America.
MLG's Board of Directors has approved an asset purchase agreement that gives Activision Blizzard significantly all of the company's assets. The acquisition deal costs $46 million. The sale was approved as a corporate action taken without a stockholders' meeting by less than unanimous written consent of stockholders, according to IGN.
The $46 million supposedly coming from Activision Blizzard would primarily be utilized to pay off MLG's outstanding debt. MLG has had some debt issues in the past.
The deal also includes the removal of current MLG CEO Sundance Digiovanni, who would be replaced by the company's former chief financial officer, Greg Shisholm, Cinema Blend reported. Earlier this year, Major League Gaming co-founder Mike Sepso left MLS to join Activision as an executive in their newly formed eSports division.
MLG took a hit losing out on the “Call of Duty” World League to their rivals the ESL, and had to hold tight while the eSports world had its first huge drug use controversy. Despite those controversies, ESPN started covering more eSports events, marking a significant milestone in the eSports world for being accepted by a major cable sports channel.
MLG was founded back in 2002, hosting small “Call of Duty” and “Halo” tournaments before branching out into now games better known for eSports tournaments like “StarCraft,” “DOTA,” and “League of Legends.” The company was in the midst of organizing a “Counter-Strike: Go” tournament in late March, which may now see some drastic changes.