(April 5 – 09:30 ET) – Winnipeg’s Assante Corp. has acquired another sports agency. M.D. Gillis & Associates Ltd., a firm that specializes in hockey players.
Assante is paying an undisclosed quantity of cash for Gillis. The deal also carries an earn-out of 147,604 special shares which have liquidation value of $19 per share. These shares are escrowed and will be earned based on achieving financial targets over the five years following closing. Assante currently trades at about $5.
The Gillis agency was founded in 1991 by former Boston Bruin and Colorado Rockies player Mike Gillis. It currently represents Pavel Bure, Pat Verbeek, Bobby Holik and assorted other NHL players. This deal is the fourth acquisition so far for the Assante Sports Management Group.
“We are delighted to have Mike join the Assante team,” says Martin Weinberg, president and CEO of Assante, “This acquisition is consistent with our strategy of partnering with the leading firms in each of our chosen lines of business.”
Weinberg says that Assante’s strategy in the sports management business is to bring its wealth management services to these clients and to build critical mass of sports management experience.
-IE Staff