Acquisition of Mobcrush

On March 9, 2021, we entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger, as amended on April 20, 2021 (the “Mobcrush Merger Agreement”), by and among Mobcrush, the Company, and SLG Merger Sub II, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (“Merger Co”), which provided for the acquisition of Mobcrush by Super League pursuant to the merger of Merger Co with and into Mobcrush, with Mobcrush as the surviving corporation (the “Mobcrush Acquisition”).

On June 1, 2021 (“Mobcrush Closing Date”), the Company completed the Mobcrush Acquisition pursuant to which the Company acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of Mobcrush. In accordance with the terms and subject to the conditions of the Mobcrush Merger Agreement each outstanding share of Mobcrush common stock, par value $0.001 per share (“Mobcrush Common Stock”), and Mobcrush preferred stock, par value $0.001, was canceled and converted into the right to receive (i) 0.528 shares of the Company’s common stock, as determined in the Mobcrush Merger Agreement, and (ii) any cash in lieu of fractional shares of common stock otherwise issuable under the Mobcrush Merger Agreement (the “Mobcrush Merger Consideration”). At closing, the Company issued to the former stockholders of Mobcrush an aggregate total of 12,067,571 shares of the Company’s common stock and reserved an aggregate total of 514,633 shares of common stock for future stock option grants, under the Super League 2014 Stock Option and Incentive Plan, to the former Mobcrush employees retained by the Company in connection with the Mobcrush Acquisition, resulting in a total of 12,582,204 shares of  common stock issued and reserved as consideration for the Mobcrush Acquisition. Upon completion of the Mobcrush Acquisition, Mobcrush became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.

The Mobcrush Acquisition was approved by the board of directors of each of the Company and Mobcrush, and was approved by the stockholders of Mobcrush. For purposes of complying with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635, Super League’s stockholders approved the issuance of an aggregate of 12,582,204 shares of common stock to be issued in connection with the Mobcrush Acquisition.

Transaction costs incurred by the Company relating to the Mobcrush Acquisition totaled $636,000 and were expensed as incurred in accordance with the acquisition method of accounting.

In accordance with the acquisition method of accounting, the financial results of Super League presented herein include the financial results of Mobcrush subsequent to the Mobcrush Closing Date. Disclosure of revenue and net loss for Mobcrush on a stand-alone basis for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022 is not practical due to the integration of Mobcrush operations, including sales, products, advertising inventory, resource allocation and related operating expense, with those of the consolidated Company upon acquisition, consistent with Super League operating in one reporting segment.

The Company determined that the Mobcrush Acquisition constitutes a business acquisition as defined by ASC 805. Accordingly, the assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the transaction were recorded at their estimated acquisition date fair values, while transaction costs associated with the acquisition were expensed as incurred pursuant to the acquisition method of accounting in accordance with ASC 805. Super League’s purchase price allocation was based on an evaluation of the appropriate fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed and represents management’s best estimate based on available data. Fair values are determined based on the requirements of ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” (“ASC 820”).

The following table summarizes the determination of the fair value of the purchase price consideration paid in connection with the Mobcrush Acquisition:

The fair value of the Company common stock used in determining the estimated fair value of the Mobcrush Merger Consideration was $4.96 per share based on the closing price of Company common stock on June 1, 2021, as quoted on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

The purchase price allocation was based upon an estimate of the fair value of the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed by the Company in connection with the Mobcrush Acquisition, as follows:

The following table presents details of the fair values of the acquired intangible assets of Mobcrush:

Aggregated amortization expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022 related to intangible assets acquired in connection with the Mobcrush Acquisition (including the write down of trademark related intangible assets described above), totaled $1,221,000 and $2,853,000, respectively. Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price of the acquired business over the acquisition date fair value of the net assets acquired. Goodwill recorded in connection with the Mobcrush Acquisition is primarily attributable to expected synergies from combining the operations of Super League and Mobcrush, and also includes residual value attributable to the assembled and trained workforce acquired in the Mobcrush Acquisition.

Pursuant to the terms of the Mobcrush Merger Agreement, immediately prior to the effective time of the Mobcrush Acquisition, each vested option to acquire shares of Mobcrush common stock held by former Mobcrush employees was exercised so that, at the effective time of the Mobcrush Acquisition, shares of Mobcrush common stock issued upon exercise of these vested options received shares of Company common stock issuable as Mobcrush Merger Consideration. Unvested options to acquire shares of Mobcrush common stock that were outstanding immediately prior to the Mobcrush Closing Date were canceled, and a number of options to purchase shares of Company common stock were issued to replace the cancelled unvested Mobcrush options in a manner consistent with options historically granted by Super League under the Super League 2014 Stock Option and Incentive Plan (the “Replacement Options”).

Pursuant to the terms of the Mobcrush Merger Agreement, 514,633 shares of the Company’s common stock were reserved for Replacement Option grants to the former Mobcrush employees retained by the Company in connection with the Mobcrush Acquisition. As of September 30, 2022, 415,000 Replacement Options have been granted to former Mobcrush employees retained by the Company, with continued employment required to vest and retain the Replacement Options granted.  Under ASC 805, consideration arrangements in which the payments are automatically forfeited if employment terminates is considered to be compensation for post-combination services, and not acquisition consideration. As such, the 514,633 shares of the Company’s common stock reserved at closing for future stock option grants to former Mobcrush employees retained by the Company are not included as a component of the consideration paid in connection with the Mobcrush Acquisition, and will be accounted for pursuant to ASC 718 upon grant. 

Management is primarily responsible for determining the fair value of the tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed as of the Mobcrush Closing Date. Management considered a number of factors, including reference to an independent analysis of estimated fair values solely for the purpose of allocating the purchase price to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed. The analysis included a discounted cash flow analysis which estimated the future net cash flows expected to result from the respective assets acquired as of the Mobcrush Closing Date. A discount rate consistent with the risks associated with achieving the estimated net cash flows was used to estimate the present value of future estimated net cash flows. The Company is in the process of finalizing the estimates and assumptions developed in connection with the independent analysis of estimated fair values of intangible assets acquired solely for the purpose of allocating the purchase price to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed. Any adjustments to the fair values of intangibles assets acquired or estimates of economic useful lives of the intangible assets acquired, could impact the carrying value of those assets and related goodwill, as well as the estimates of periodic amortization of intangible assets acquired to be reflected in the statement of operations.

The fair values of the acquired intangible assets, as described above, was determined using the following methods:

The Mobcrush Acquisition was treated for tax purposes as a nontaxable transaction and, as such, the historical tax bases of the acquired assets and assumed liabilities, net operating losses, and other tax attributes of Mobcrush will carryover. As a result, no new tax goodwill was created in connection with the Mobcrush Acquisition as there is no step-up to fair value of the underlying tax bases of the acquired net assets. The acquisition method of accounting includes the establishment of a net deferred tax asset or liability resulting from book tax basis differences related to assets acquired and liabilities assumed on the date of acquisition. Acquisition date deferred tax assets primarily relate to certain net operating loss carryforwards of Mobcrush. Acquisition date deferred tax liabilities relate to specifically identified non-goodwill intangibles acquired. The estimated net deferred tax liability was determined as follows:

Release of Valuation Allowance. Since inception, the Company has maintained a full valuation allowance against its net deferred tax assets. The net deferred tax liability resulting from the Mobcrush Acquisition created a source of income to utilize against the Company’s existing net deferred tax assets. Under the acquisition method of accounting, the impact on the acquiring company’s deferred tax assets is recorded outside of acquisition accounting. Accordingly, the valuation allowance on a portion of the Company’s net deferred tax assets was released, resulting in an income tax benefit of approximately $3,073,000, recorded as a credit to income tax expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2021. The offsetting amounts reduced net deferred tax liabilities, $3,073,000, of which reduced the net deferred tax liability established in connection with the application of the acquisition method of accounting for the Mobcrush Acquisition.

The following unaudited pro forma combined results of operations for the periods presented are provided for illustrative purposes only. The unaudited pro forma combined statements of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, assume the acquisition occurred as of January 1, 2020. The unaudited pro forma combined financial results do not purport to be indicative of the results of operations for future periods or the results that actually would have been realized had the entities been a single entity during these periods.

Pro forma adjustments primarily relate to the amortization of identifiable intangible assets acquired over the estimated economic useful life as described above, the expensing of stock options issued to former Mobcrush employees acquired in connection with the Merger, the exclusion of interest expense related to convertible debt of Mobcrush not assumed by Super League in connection with the Merger, the exclusion of nonrecurring transaction costs, and the exclusion of amortization and depreciation related to tangible and intangible assets of Mobcrush existing immediately prior to the Merger. The unaudited pro forma combined statements of operations for the periods presented herein have been adjusted to give effect to pro forma events that are expected to have a continuing impact on the combined results. As such, the income tax benefit related to the release of valuation allowance reflected in the statement of income for the three months ended June 30, 2021, as described above, totaling $3,073,000, is not reflected in the accompanying unaudited pro forma combined statements of income for the periods presented.

Acquisition of Bannerfy, LTD

On August 11, 2021, the Company entered into a Share Purchase Agreement (the “Bannerfy Purchase Agreement”) with William Roberts, Colin Gillespie, and Robert Pierre (collectively, “Sellers”), pursuant to which the Company agreed to purchase, and Sellers agreed to sell, all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Bannerfy, a company organized under the laws of England and Wales for a total purchase price of $7.0 million (the “Bannerfy Purchase Price”) (the “Bannerfy Acquisition”). On August 24, 2021 (the “Bannerfy Closing Date”), the Company completed the acquisition of Bannerfy.

Pursuant to the Bannerfy Purchase Agreement, upon the consummation of the Bannerfy Acquisition (the “Bannerfy Closing”), the Company paid an initial payment (subject to a holdback as described below) of $2.45 million (the “Bannerfy Closing Consideration”), paid or to be paid as follows (i) $525,000 in the form of a cash payment, and (ii) $1.92 million in the form of shares of the Company’s common stock, at a price per share of $4.10, the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the effective date of the Bannerfy Purchase Agreement, as reported on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Pursuant to the terms of the Bannerfy Purchase Agreement, $275,000 of the Bannerfy Closing Consideration (“Holdback Amount”), was withheld from the Bannerfy Closing Consideration to satisfy any indemnifiable losses incurred by the Company (as defined in the Bannerfy Purchase Agreement) prior to the first anniversary of the Bannerfy Closing Date. The Company incurred no indemnifiable losses prior to the first anniversary of the Bannerfy Closing Date, and therefore during the three months ended September 30, 2022, the Company released to the Sellers the Holdback Amount as follows: (i) $55,000 payable in the form of cash, and (ii) approximately $220,000 in the form of shares of the Company’s common stock, at a price per share of $4.10.

In accordance with the Bannerfy Purchase Agreement, all remaining portions of the Bannerfy Purchase Price subsequent to the payment of the Bannerfy Closing Consideration, up to approximately $4.55 million (the “Contingent Consideration”), was payable upon the achievement of certain revenue and gross profit thresholds for the remainder of the 2021 fiscal year, and each of the fiscal years ending December 31, 2022, and December 31, 2023 (“Earnout Periods”).  For the 2021, 2022 and 2023 Earnout Periods, 8%, 38% and 54%, respectively of the Contingent Consideration is potentially payable. The Contingent Consideration is payable in the form of both cash and shares of the Company’s common stock, 21% in cash and 79% in Company common stock, based on a conversion price of $4.10 per share.

The Bannerfy Acquisition was accounted for in accordance with ASC 805. In accordance with ASC 805, if substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired is concentrated in a single identifiable asset or group of similar identifiable assets, the set is not considered a business. Gross assets acquired excludes cash and cash equivalents, deferred tax assets, and goodwill resulting from the effects of deferred tax liabilities. A single identifiable asset includes any individual asset or group of assets that could be recognized and measured as a single identifiable asset in a business combination. When evaluating whether assets are similar, we considered the nature of each single identifiable asset and the risks associated with managing and creating outputs from the assets. Management determined that the Bannerfy Acquisition involved the acquisition of developed technology, which accounted for substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired, and therefore, the Bannerfy Acquisition was determined not to be the acquisition of a business under ASC 805, and is therefore accounted for as an asset acquisition utilizing a cost accumulation model in accordance with the applicable guidance.

Transaction costs incurred in connection with the Bannerfy Acquisition totaled $62,000, which are included as a component of the purchase price paid in connection with the Bannerfy Acquisition.

The Bannerfy Purchase Price paid, comprised of the Bannerfy Closing Consideration of $2.45 million and $62,000 of related transaction costs, was allocated to the developed technology acquired, with an estimated useful life of seven years. In addition, the carrying value of the developed technology acquired in connection with the Bannerfy Acquisition includes an adjustment related to deferred taxes, totaling $556,000, as described below. Net working capital assets acquired were not material.

Aggregated amortization expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022, related to the developed technology acquired in connection with the Bannerfy Acquisition, totaled $110,000 and $330,000, respectively.

The Company hired the former director of Bannerfy (“Bannerfy Executive”), who was also a selling shareholder of Bannerfy. Pursuant to the provisions of the Bannerfy Purchase Agreement, in the event that the Bannerfy Executive ceases to be an employee, during any of the Earnout Periods, as a consequence of his resignation or termination for cause, as defined in the Bannerfy Purchase Agreement, the Bannerfy Executive shall only be entitled to such percentage of any Contingent Consideration payment which would otherwise be payable to him on a prorated basis based on the number of months employed during the applicable Earnout Period. Under ASC 805, a contingent consideration arrangement in which the payments are automatically forfeited if employment terminates is considered to be compensation for post-combination services, and not acquisition consideration. As such, the Contingent Consideration, if any, will be accounted for as post-combination services and expensed in the period that payment of any amounts of Contingent Consideration becomes probable and reasonably estimable. 

The Bannerfy Acquisition was treated for tax purposes as a nontaxable transaction and, as such, the historical tax bases of the acquired assets and assumed liabilities, net operating losses, and other tax attributes of Bannerfy will carryover. As a result, there is no step-up to fair value of the underlying tax bases of the acquired net assets in connection with the Bannerfy Acquisition. The acquisition method of accounting includes the establishment of a net deferred tax asset or liability resulting from book tax basis differences related to assets acquired and liabilities assumed on the date of acquisition. When an acquisition of a group of assets is purchased in a transaction that is not accounted for as a business combination under ASC 805, a difference between the book and tax bases of the assets arises. ASC 740, “Income Taxes,” (“ASC 740”) requires the use of simultaneous equations to determine the assigned value of the asset and the related deferred tax asset or liability. As neither goodwill nor a bargain purchase gain is recognized in an asset acquisition, recognizing deferred tax assets or liabilities for temporary differences in an asset acquisition results in adjusting the carrying amount of the related assets and liabilities. The deferred tax liability and resulting adjustment to the carrying amount of the assets acquired in connection with the Bannerfy Acquisition was determined as follows:

Bannerfy commenced operations in September 2020. As such, the historical balance sheets and statements of operations of Bannerfy were not material, and therefore unaudited pro forma combined results of operations for the periods presented are not provided for illustrative purposes. Revenue and net loss related to Bannerfy for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022 were not material.

Acquisition of Superbiz Co.

On October 4, 2021 (“Superbiz Closing Date”), the Company entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement (the “Superbiz Purchase Agreement”) with Superbiz Co. and the founders of Superbiz (the “Founders”), pursuant to which the Company acquired (i) substantially all of the assets of Superbiz (the “Superbiz Assets”), and (ii) the personal goodwill of the Founders regarding Superbiz’s business, (the “Superbiz Acquisition”). The consummation of the Superbiz Acquisition (the “Superbiz Closing”) occurred simultaneously with the execution of the Superbiz Purchase Agreement on the Superbiz Closing Date.

At closing, the Company paid an aggregate total of $6.0 million to Superbiz and the Founders (the “Superbiz Closing Consideration”), of which $3.0 million was paid in the form of cash (the “Superbiz Closing Cash Consideration”) and $3.0 million was paid in the form of shares of the Company’s common stock, at a per share price of $2.91, the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the Superbiz Closing Date, as reported on the Nasdaq Capital Market (the “Superbiz Stock Consideration”).

Pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions of the Superbiz Purchase Agreement, up to an aggregate amount $11.5 million will be payable to Superbiz and the Founders in connection with the achievement of certain revenue milestones for the period from the Superbiz Closing Date until December 31, 2022 (“Initial Earn Out Period”) and for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023 (the “Superbiz Contingent Consideration”) (“Superbiz Earn Out Periods”). The Superbiz Contingent Consideration is payable in the form of both cash and shares of the Company’s common stock, in equal amounts, as more specifically set forth in the Superbiz Purchase Agreement.

The Superbiz Acquisition was approved by the board of directors of each of the Company and Superbiz and was approved by the stockholders of Superbiz.

In accordance with the acquisition method of accounting, the financial results of Super League presented herein include the financial results of Superbiz subsequent to the Superbiz Closing Date. Disclosure of revenue and net loss for Superbiz on a stand-alone basis for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022 is not practical due to the integration of Superbiz activities, including sales, products, advertising inventory, resource allocation and related operating expense, with those of the consolidated Company upon acquisition, consistent with Super League operating in one reporting segment.

The Company determined that the Superbiz Acquisition constitutes a business acquisition as defined by ASC 805. Accordingly, the assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the transaction were recorded at their estimated acquisition date fair values, while transaction costs associated with the acquisition were expensed as incurred pursuant to the acquisition method of accounting in accordance with ASC 805. Super League’s purchase price allocation was based on an evaluation of the appropriate fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed and represents management’s best estimate based on available data. Fair values are determined based on the requirements of ASC 820.

Transaction costs incurred by the Company relating to the Superbiz Acquisition totaled $47,000 and were expensed as incurred in accordance with the acquisition method of accounting.

The following table summarizes the determination of the fair value of the purchase price consideration paid in connection with the Superbiz Acquisition:

The fair value of the Company common stock used in determining the estimated fair value of the Superbiz Closing Consideration was $2.91 per share based on the closing price of Company common stock on October 4, 2021, as quoted on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

The purchase price allocation was based upon an estimate of the fair value of the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed by the Company in connection with the Superbiz Acquisition, as follows:

The following table presents details of the fair values of the acquired intangible assets of Superbiz:

Aggregated amortization expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022, related to intangible assets acquired in connection with the Superbiz Acquisition, totaled $102,000 and $306,000, respectively. Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price of the acquired business over the acquisition date fair value of the net assets acquired. Goodwill recorded in connection with the Superbiz Acquisition is primarily attributable to expected synergies from combining the operations and assets of Super League and Superbiz, and also includes residual value attributable to the assembled and trained workforce acquired in the acquisition.

Management is primarily responsible for determining the fair value of the tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed as of the Superbiz Closing Date. Management considered a number of factors, including reference to an independent analysis of estimated fair values solely for the purpose of allocating the purchase price to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed. The analysis included a discounted cash flow analysis which estimated the future net cash flows expected to result from the respective assets acquired as of the Superbiz Closing Date. A discount rate consistent with the risks associated with achieving the estimated net cash flows was used to estimate the present value of future estimated net cash flows. The fair values of the intangible assets acquired in connection with the Superbiz acquisition were determined using the cost method. Under the cost method, value is estimated by determining the current cost of replacing an asset with one of equivalent economic utility. The premise of the approach is that a prudent investor would pay no more for an asset than the amount for which the utility of the asset could be replaced. Valuation assumptions utilized included rates of return of 30%, discount periods of 0.5 to 1, risk adjusted return factors of 1.1 to 1.3 and weighted average costs of capital of 30%.

The Company hired the Founders of Superbiz in connection with the Superbiz Acquisition. Pursuant to the provisions of the Superbiz Purchase Agreement, in the event that a Founder ceases to be an employee during any of the Superbiz Earn Out Periods, as a consequence of his resignation without good cause, or termination for cause, the Superbiz Contingent Consideration will be reduced by one-half (50%) for the respective Superbiz Earn Out Periods, if and when earned. Under ASC 805, a contingent consideration arrangement in which the payments are automatically forfeited if employment terminates is considered to be compensation for post-combination services, and not acquisition consideration. As such, the Contingent Consideration, is accounted for as post-combination services and expensed in the period that payment of any amounts of Contingent Consideration is determined to be probable and reasonably estimable. As of September 30, 2022, the Company determined that it was probable that the contingency for the Initial Earn Out Period would be met in accordance with the terms of the Superbiz Purchase Agreement, and the applicable amounts were reasonably estimable as of September 30, 2022, resulting in a charge to compensation expense totaling $1,836,000 (including approximately 512,000 shares of common stock valued at $0.68, the price of our common stock as of September 30, 2022), which is reflected in general and administrative expense in the condensed consolidated statement of operations for three and nine months ended September 30, 2022. The Contingent Consideration is recorded as a liability in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet in accordance with ASC 480, “Distinguishing liabilities from equity,” which requires freestanding financial instruments where the company must or could settle the obligation by issuing a variable number of its shares, and the obligation's monetary value is based solely or predominantly on variations in something other than the fair value of the company's shares, to be recorded as a liability.

For tax purposes, consistent with the accounting for book purposes, the Superbiz Closing Consideration was allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values as of the acquisition date, with the excess purchase price allocated to goodwill.  As a result, no deferred tax assets or liabilities were recorded with the acquisition and all of the goodwill is expected to be deductible for tax purposes.

Superbiz operations commenced in December 2020. As such, the historical balance sheets and statements of operations of Superbiz were not material, and therefore unaudited pro forma combined results of operations for the periods presented are not provided for illustrative purposes.