Sources: OWL sells slot to Splyce, other investors
2:02 pm | August 13, 2018 | Go to Source | Author:
4:54 PM ET
Activision Blizzard is in the process of final negotiations with a group led by Canadian entrepreneur Michael Kimel to sell a Toronto slot in its Overwatch League, league sources told ESPN on Monday.
The team will be operated by multi-game esports organization Splyce, sources said. The slot is expected to sell for $35 million, according to a report from the SportsBusiness Daily. In season one, the league sold its 12 franchises for $20 million each.
The group will consist of funding from Kimel, his family — including Westdale Properties, which is owned by Kimel’s uncle Ron Kimel — and Splyce investor OverActive Media. Splyce will own 10 percent of the team in addition to operating the group.
In April, OverActive Media led a $2.6 million investment round for Splyce. Since that investment, Splyce has explored the possibility of working to become involved in the Overwatch League in Toronto, sources said. Splyce previously had interest in the Overwatch League last year in Boston — which is where one of its main investors, Boston Bruins and TD Garden parent company Delaware North, is located — but that slot was sold to The Kraft Group in March 2017, months before the Overwatch League signed several of its other 12 initial ownership groups.