Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: DEAC) (“Diamond Eagle”), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company led by Harry Sloan and Jeff Sagansky, announced today that its subsidiary, DEAC NV Merger Corp., has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) a registration statement on Form S-4 (the “Registration Statement”), which includes a preliminary proxy statement/prospectus, in connection with its recently-announced proposed business combination with DraftKings Inc. (“DraftKings”), a digital sports entertainment and gaming company known for its industry-leading daily fantasy sports and mobile sports betting platforms, and SBTech (Global) Limited (“SBTech”), an international turnkey provider of cutting-edge sports betting and gaming technologies. The combined company will be the only vertically-integrated sports betting and online gaming company based in the United States.
Diamond Eagle’s common stock is currently traded on Nasdaq under the symbol “DEAC.” In connection with the closing of the transaction, Diamond Eagle intends to change its name to DraftKings Inc., reincorporate in Nevada (by merging with its subsidiary, DEAC NV Merger Corp.) and remain Nasdaq-listed under a new ticker symbol. Completion of the transaction, which is expected in the first half of 2020, is subject to approval by Diamond Eagle stockholders, the Registration Statement being declared effective by the SEC and other customary closing conditions.
Institutional investors (including funds managed by Capital Research and Management Company, Wellington Management Company and Franklin Templeton) have committed to a private investment of $304 million in Class A common stock of the combined company that will close concurrently with the business combination and, subject to any redemptions by DEAC stockholders, there is $400 million currently held in Diamond Eagle’s trust account. It is anticipated that the combined company will have an equity market capitalization at closing of approximately $3.3 billion and have over $500 million of unrestricted cash on the balance sheet.
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is acting as exclusive financial advisor to Diamond Eagle. Raine Group is acting as exclusive financial advisor to DraftKings. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is acting as legal advisor to DraftKings. Winston & Strawn LLP is acting as legal advisor to Diamond Eagle. Stifel is acting as financial advisor and Herzog, Fox & Neeman and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP are acting as legal advisors to SBTech. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC are acting as capital markets advisors, and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC are acting as private placement agents, to Diamond Eagle.
