UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): September 6, 2022
ALLIED ESPORTS ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
| Delaware | 001-38266 | 82-1659427 | ||
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) | (Commission File Number) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
745 Fifth Avenue, Suite 500
New York, NY 10151
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
(646) 768-4240
(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)
Not Applicable
(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):
| ☐ | Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
| ☐ | Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
| ☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
| ☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e 4(c)) |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
| Common Stock | AESE | The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging growth company ☒
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
| Item 5.02. | Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. |
Management Changes
On September 6, 2022, the Board of Directors of Allied Esports Entertainment, Inc. (the “Company”) appointed Yinghua Chen as Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Chen had previously served as the Company’s President, Chief Investment Officer and Board Secretary. Given Ms. Chen’s additional responsibilities, Ms. Chen will no longer serve the Company as Chief Investment Officer or Board Secretary, and will continue to serve as President. Ms. Chen assumes the position of Chief Executive Officer from Lyle Berman, who has served as Co-Chairman of the Board and Interim Chief Executive Officer since February 2022. Mr. Berman retains his position as Co-Chairman of the Board, and has been appointed as Vice President, Mergers & Acquisition, where he will be more focused on the Company’s acquisition activities.
Yinghua Chen has served as a director of the Company since 2020. Ms. Chen has served as the Company’s President since February 2022, and served as the Company’s Chief Investment Officer from November 2021 until September 6, 2022, and as Board Secretary from February 2022 until September 6, 2022. Ms. Chen is a Co-Founder of Aupera Technologies, a leading video AI technology company, where she is responsible for corporate financing, business development, and strategic partnership. She has successfully raised multiple rounds of funding for Aupera, including from Silicon Valley giant Xilinx (Nasdaq: XLNX). Prior to this, she served as the Executive Vice President of Anthill Resources, a natural resources investment company in Canada,
where she oversaw business operations and investment activities. Ms. Chen is also the former Managing Director of China for The Cavendish Group, a UK B2B media and public relations company. In that role, Ms. Chen built up subscriber networks for over ten vertical industry media products and managed the Group’s strategic relationship with the Boao Forum for Asia. Ms. Chen was also part of the founding team of The Balloch Group, a boutique investment banking firm, later acquired by Canaccord Genuity, where she specialized in financial, pharmaceutical, resources and media industry transactions. Ms. Chen holds an EMBA from the University of Paris I: Panthéon-Sorbonne and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of International Business and Economics.
Compensation
In connection with the appointments identified above, the Board of Directors updated the annual salary compensation of Ms. Chen and Mr. Berman to $300,000 and $150,000, respectively, taking into account the scope of the services to be provided by each person.
A press release announcing the foregoing matters is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1.
| Item 9.01. | Financial Statement and Exhibits. |
| (d) | Exhibits |
| Exhibit No. | Description | |
| 99.1 | Company Press Release dated September 8, 2022 | |
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document) |
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Dated: September 8, 2022
| ALLIED ESPORTS ENTERTAINMENT, INC. | ||
| By: | /s/ Roy Anderson | |
| Roy Anderson, Chief Financial Officer | ||