- A deal was struck to sell Zen to NYX Gaming Group, Ltd following a chapter 11 filing last year.
- NYX is to become the sole shareholder of the company, paying $695k to rescue the business.
A Swedish online gaming software developer has acquired the bankrupt ZEN Entertainment, a Las Vegas-based free-play subscription poker provider.
The deal with NYX Gaming Group, Ltd. had been in the works since January, when ZEN filed for Chapter 11, in an attempt to find a solution for its creditors.
ZEN, which partnered with online presences such as Cardplayer Poker, South Point Poker, UFC and Jamie Gold’s FreeGoldPoker, borrowed upwards of $16m over three years, but never turned a profit.
The network was purported to be the largest business-to-business provider of free-play social media poker, with $100k in monthly cash prizes, framed as “sweepstakes“ tournaments in order to pass muster under US law.
That free play model was supposed to open the door to real money games, but with the failure last year to pass federal legislation for regulated online poker, so went ZEN Entertainment.
According to the plan under the Chapter 11 filing, NYX was to become the sole shareholder of the company, paying $695k to rescue the business.
The Stockholm-based company, which operates in Europe and Australia, now plans to expand its business into North America, where ZEN was said to have had a 750k player base.
“I am delighted to secure the acquisition of Zen Entertainment Inc, a transaction that supports the expansion of the group business into the emerging online gaming markets within North America,” said Matt Davey, CEO of NYX Gaming Group. “I am excited at the rapid growth the group has experienced to date.”
NYX said that ZEN staff members would join the company’s social gaming division.