ANCHOVY Studios plc and NIU Ltd have announced a new structure to their merger, with the transaction set to be completed by the end of this year.

In the announcement posted to the Malta Stock Exchange, the companies stated that NIU will now become a fully owned subsidiary of ANCHOVY, with NIU’s shareholdings taking on a 50 per cent position in ANCHOVY.The previous publicised agreement was for the shares held in ANCHOVY Studios plc and NIU Ltd by the respective shareholders to be transferred to a newly incorporated holding company, with the owners of both companies becoming joint owners of the new holding company.

In 2022, Zak and Benji Borg, co-founders of ANCHOVY plc along with James Abela and Matthew Sammut, co-founders of NIU Ltd, announced the formation of a comprehensive technology and digital services group, known as 9H Capital Ltd that would eventually own 100 per cent of ANCHOVY studios plc and NIU Ltd.

“However, upon further discussion between the shareholders, it was agreed that ownership of NIU Ltd will be fully transferred to ANCHOVY Studios plc, which in turn, will ultimately be owned by the current shareholders of ANCHOVY Studios plc and NIU Ltd,” the company explained.The market value of NIU and ANCHOVY, as per recent valuations were €3.1 million and €2.86 million respectively, therefore having a total combined market value of €5.96 million.

According to the company announcement, an agreement was reached between the shareholders of ANCHOVY and NIU that the consideration for the transaction will be in terms of shares of ANCHOVY issued to the current shareholders of NIU ltd. This means that ownership of ANCHOVY will ultimately be split 50-50 between the current shareholders of ANCHOVY and the current shareholders of NIU respectively.

As of May 2023, the value of the gross assets subject to the transaction was €1.2 million. The profit attributable to the assets, subject to the transaction (the profit before tax of NIU Ltd) was €122,296 for the five months, ended May 2023.

NIU Ltd is an end-to-end digital solutions company in Malta. With the proposed transaction, the companies will be “complementing their business portfolio and expect to benefit from synergies resulting from the combination of products they offer.”