Update — 21/11/2018: Delaware North fully intends to return to esports at some point, CMO Todd Merry said Wednesday, despite plans to cash out of its position in Splyce.

The concessionaire and Boston Bruins owner was among the first traditional sports groups to make an esports play when it invested in New York-based Splyce in Feburary, 2017. But Splyce was sold to Toronto-based OverActive Media today.

OverActive Media said in a statement “the acquisition will eventually merge the shareholder base under OAM” and declined to elaborate. However, Merry said Delaware North wants cash, not shares in the newly merged OverActive, and is trying to sell its shares to a fellow Splyce investor before the Splyce acquisition is finalized.

In any case, Merry said, the moves should not be seen as a rebuke of the esports industry by Delaware North.

“We’re still very much interested in esports, and we’re talking to two different teams about investing now,” Merry said. “One is a long-term client of ours in the traditional sports world. We still want to be in esports, but we wanted more control, more of an ownership position, and we just didn’t get there with Splyce.”

This update was written by Ben Fischer of SportsBusiness Daily.

Splyce will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of OverActive Media Group.

OverActive Media previously invested $1.5M in Splyce in June.

The company now holds permanent franchise spots in both Overwatch and League of Legends .

Following a $1.5M investment in June, OverActive Media Group today announced that it has entered an agreement in principle to acquire esports organization Splyce .

The organization will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of OverActive Media Group and retain its senior management and staff, including co-founders Marty Strenczewilk (CEO) and Vincent Garguilo (creative director). The acquisition announcement follows yesterday’s news that Splyce has been awarded a franchise spot in the new League of Legends European Championship (LEC).

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Splyce and OverActive Media Group are also behind the Toronto Defiant.[/perfectpullquote]

Splyce and OverActive Media Group are also behind the Toronto Defiant, the new season two Overwatch League team that Splyce will operate. That makes OverActive Media Group just one of four organizations with franchise slots in both Overwatch and League of Legends , joining Cloud9 , OpTic Gaming , and Misfits .

Splyce also houses the current Halo and Smite world champions, and has teams competing in Call of Duty , Rocket League , StarCraft II , and Paladins .

Related Article: Toronto Defiant CEO Chris Overholt Dishes on Sports Resume, Making the City a Home

“Long before we acquired Splyce, we were all-in. It was just a matter of defining the best opportunities to scale our business,” said OverActive Media Group president and CEO Chris Overholt in an interview with The Esports Observer. “As we spent more time with Marty and his team and as we looked at their business and the potential of the Splyce brand globally, we just didn’t feel like we could deny ourselves that opportunity.”

“Concurrent with that, we had been working with Splyce on the potential of acquiring a League of Legends franchise,” he added. “When all of that came together at the very same time, it seemed like a no-brainer.”

The Esports Observer will soon post a feature interview with Overholt, which digs deeper into the acquisition, Splyce’s current place in the hierarchy of esports organizations, and the company’s next steps forward.