On Tuesday, August 18th, Super League's stock began trading with high activity after Metaplanet announced plans to acquire approximately 95.7% of Super League Enterprise's shares in exchange for 2,100 bitcoins and $2.5 million in cash.
The deal concluded with the rebranding of the Nasdaq-listed company, which will now be known as a U.S. company managing bitcoin, backed by the third-largest corporate bitcoin holder. After the deal's completion, Super League will change its previous ticker SLE to SUPA.
Metaplanet and Super League emphasized that they are conducting a private placement of new securities into the existing company, which is different from a reverse takeover or a SPAC deal.
The agreement with Super League opened the U.S. market path for Metaplanet. Thus, the company led by Simon Gerovich gained a second listed asset in another currency under the management of a different regulator.
To complete the deal, the Japanese company contributed 2,100 $BTC (4.9% of its 43,000 $BTC reserve), amounting to approximately $132.1 million, and an additional $2.5 million in cash in exchange for 44,859,400 newly issued Super League shares at $3.00 per share. Metaplanet also received preferred shares and warrants.
In total, Metaplanet allocated about $134.6 million to finalize the deal. Prior to the deal, the Santa Monica-based Super League was engaged in advertising and gaming media, and this part of the business will continue to operate as a separate segment.
Metaplanet's CEO, Simon Gerovich, confirmed that both companies will manage "one consolidated bitcoin position, raising capital through two exchange platforms in Japan and the U.S."
The market perceived this event positively: on August 18th, SLE shares rose approximately 120%, climbing from $3.30 to $7.00 in the first half-hour of trading. They then retreated to a level of $5.25.
