UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON,
D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE
14A
Proxy
Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Filed
by the Registrant ☒
Filed
by a Party other than the Registrant ☐
Check
the appropriate box:
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Preliminary
Proxy Statement |
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Confidential,
for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule
14a-6(e)(2)) |
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Definitive
Proxy Statement |
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Definitive
Additional Materials |
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Soliciting
Material Pursuant to §240.14a-12 |
PLAYSTUDIOS,
Inc.
(Name
of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)
(Name
of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the
Registrant)
Payment
of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):
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Fee
paid previously with preliminary materials. |
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Fee
computed on table in exhibit required by Item 25(b) per Exchange
Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11. |

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April 26, 2022
DEAR
STOCKHOLDER:
It is a pleasure for me
to extend to you an invitation to attend the 2022 Annual Meeting of
Stockholders of PLAYSTUDIOS, Inc. (the “Annual Meeting”). The
Annual Meeting will be held virtually on June 7, 2022, at 8:00 am,
Pacific Time. You may attend the virtual meeting, submit questions,
and vote your shares electronically during the meeting via live
webcast by visiting
www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/MYPS2022.
The enclosed Notice of
2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and Proxy Statement describes
the proposals to be considered and voted upon at the Annual
Meeting.
We hope that all
stockholders of record at the close of business on April 13, 2022
will virtually attend the Annual Meeting. Whether or not you plan
to attend the virtual Annual Meeting, it is important that you be
represented. To ensure that your vote will be received and counted,
please vote online, by mail or by telephone, by following the
instructions included with the proxy card.
On behalf of the Board
of Directors and senior management, I would like to express our
appreciation for your support and interest in PLAYSTUDIOS, Inc. I
look forward to seeing you at the Annual Meeting.
Sincerely,

Andrew
Pascal
Chairman of the
Board and Chief Executive Officer
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PLAYSTUDIOS,
Inc.
10150
Covington Cross Drive
Las
Vegas, NV 89144
NOTICE OF 2022 ANNUAL
MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
Tuesday,
June 7, 2022 | 8:00 am. Pacific
Time
Live
webcast: www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/MYPS2022
The
principal business of the Annual Meeting will be:
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1. |
To
elect six directors for a one-year term; |
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2. |
To
ratify the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP (“Deloitte”) as
our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal
year ending December 31, 2022; and |
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3. |
To
transact any other business as may properly come before the Annual
Meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof. |
You
may vote on these matters in person or by proxy. Whether or not you
plan to virtually attend the Annual Meeting, we ask that you vote
by one of the following methods to ensure that your shares will be
represented at the meeting in accordance with your
wishes:
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● |
Vote
online or by telephone, by following the instructions included with
the proxy card; or |
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Vote
by mail, by completing and returning the enclosed proxy card in the
enclosed addressed stamped envelope. |
Only
stockholders of record at the close of business on April 13, 2022
are entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the Annual Meeting or
any adjournment or postponement of the Annual Meeting. This Proxy
Statement and the proxy card were either made available to you
online or mailed to you beginning on or about April 26,
2022.
By
Order of the Board of Directors

Joel
Agena
General
Counsel and Secretary
Las
Vegas, NV
April
26, 2022
Important
Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for
the
Annual
Meeting of Stockholders to be held on June 7,
2022:
The
Notice of Annual Meeting, Proxy Statement, and our 2021 Annual
Report
to
Stockholders are available electronically at
ir.playstudios.com

PLAYSTUDIOS,
INC. PROXY STATEMENT
GENERAL
INFORMATION
This
Proxy Statement and the accompanying proxy card are being furnished
to you in connection with the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders
(the “Annual Meeting”) of PLAYSTUDIOS, Inc. (“PLAYSTUDIOS,” “we,”
“us,” “our,” or the “Company”). The Annual Meeting will be held on
June 7, 2022, at 8:00 am, Pacific Time. The Annual Meeting will be
held virtually. You may attend the virtual meeting, submit
questions, and vote your shares electronically during the meeting
via live webcast by visiting
www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/MYPS2022.
This
Proxy Statement is being sent or provided on or about April 26,
2022, to stockholders of record at the close of business on April
13, 2022 (the “Record Date”) of our Class A common stock, par value
$0.0001 per share (the “Class A common stock”) and Class B common
stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Class B common
stock”).
Your
proxy is being solicited by our Board of Directors (the “Board” or
“Board of Directors”). Your proxy may be revoked by written notice
given to our Secretary at our headquarters at any time before being
voted. You may also revoke your proxy by submitting a proxy with a
later date or by voting during your virtual attendance at the
Annual Meeting. To vote online or by telephone, please refer to the
instructions included with the proxy card. To vote by mail, please
complete the accompanying proxy card and return it to us as
instructed in the accompanying proxy card. Votes submitted online
or by telephone or mail must be received by 11:59 p.m., Pacific
Time, on June 6, 2022. Submitting your vote online or by telephone
or mail will not affect your right to vote virtually during the
Annual Meeting, if you choose to do so. Proxies that are properly
delivered to us and not revoked before the closing of the polls
during the Annual Meeting will be voted for the proposals described
in this Proxy Statement in accordance with the instructions set
forth in the accompanying proxy card. The Board is currently not
aware of any matters proposed to be presented at the Annual Meeting
other than the election of directors and the ratification of the
appointment of Deloitte as our independent registered public
accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. If
any other matter is properly presented at the Annual Meeting, the
persons named in the accompanying proxy card will have
discretionary authority to vote on that matter. Your virtual
presence at the Annual Meeting does not of itself revoke your
proxy.
ATTENDANCE
AT THE MEETING
Stockholders
of record as of the Record Date will be able to attend and
participate in the Annual Meeting online by accessing
www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/MYPS2022. To join the Annual
Meeting, you will need to have your 16-digit control number, which
appears on the notice and the instructions to the accompanying
proxy card. Even if you plan to attend the Annual Meeting online,
we recommend that you also vote by proxy as described herein so
that your vote will be counted if you decide not to attend the
Annual Meeting.
Access
to the Audio Webcast of the Annual Meeting
The
live audio webcast of the Annual Meeting will begin promptly at
8:00 am Pacific Time. Online access to the audio webcast will open
approximately 30 minutes prior to the start of the Annual Meeting
to allow time for you to log in and test the computer audio system.
We encourage our stockholders to access the Annual Meeting prior to
the start time.
Log
in Instructions
To
attend the virtual Annual Meeting, log in at
www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/MYPS2022. Stockholders will need
their 16-digit control number, which appears on the notice and the
instructions to the accompanying proxy card. If you do not have a
control number, please contact your broker, bank, or other nominee
as soon as possible, so that you can be provided with a control
number and gain access to the Annual Meeting.
Submitting
Questions at the Virtual Annual Meeting
As
part of the Annual Meeting, we will hold a live question and answer
session, during which we intend to answer questions submitted
during the meeting via the Q&A tool in accordance with the
Annual Meeting’s Rules of Conduct (“Rules of Conduct”) that are
pertinent to the Company and the Annual Meeting matters, as time
permits. Questions and answers will be grouped by topic and
substantially similar questions will be grouped and answered
once.
The
Rules of Conduct will be posted on
www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/MYPS2022 approximately two weeks
prior to the date of the Annual Meeting.
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Annual
Meeting Technical Assistance
Beginning
15 minutes prior to the start of and during the virtual Annual
Meeting, we will have a support team ready to assist stockholders
with any technical difficulties they may have accessing or hearing
the virtual meeting. If you encounter any difficulties accessing
the virtual meeting during the check-in or meeting time, please
call the technical support number that will be posted on the
virtual stockholder meeting log-in page.
Availability
of Live Webcast to Team Members and Other
Constituents
The
live audio webcast will be available to not only our stockholders,
but also our team members and other constituents.
SECURITIES
ENTITLED TO VOTE
Stockholder of Record. If
your shares are registered directly in your name with our transfer
agent, Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, you are
considered the “shareholder of record,” with respect to those
shares. The notice will be sent to you by mail directly by us. As a
stockholder of record, you may vote in person at the Annual Meeting
or vote by proxy. Whether or not you plan to attend the Annual
Meeting virtually, we urge you to vote on the Internet or by phone
as instructed in the notice or by proxy by mail by requesting a
paper copy of the proxy materials as instructed in the notice to
ensure your vote is counted.
Beneficial Owner. If
your shares are held in a stock brokerage account or by a bank or
other nominee, you are considered the “beneficial owner” of shares
held in street name. The organization holding your account is
considered the stockholder of record for purposes of voting at the
Annual Meeting. As a beneficial owner, you have the right to direct
your broker, bank, or other agent on how to vote the shares in your
account. Your brokerage firm, bank, or other agent will not be able
to vote in the election of directors unless they have your voting
instructions, so it is very important that you indicate your voting
instructions to the institution holding your shares.
Only
stockholders of record at the close of business on the Record Date
are entitled to notice of the Annual Meeting. Such stockholders may
vote shares held by them at the close of business on the Record
Date at the Annual Meeting. As of the close of business on the
Record Date, there were 110,339,318 shares of Class A common stock
outstanding and 16,130,300 shares of Class B common stock
outstanding. Each share of Class A common stock is entitled to one
vote per share on each proposal to be considered by our
stockholders and each share of Class B common stock is entitled to
20 votes per share on each proposal to be considered by our
stockholders.
As
a beneficial owner of shares, you are also invited to attend the
Annual Meeting virtually. However, since you are not the
stockholder of record, you may not vote your shares in person at
the Annual Meeting unless you request and obtain a valid proxy from
your broker, bank, or other agent.
MATTERS
SCHEDULED FOR A VOTE
There
are two matters scheduled for a vote:
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Proposal
1: To elect six directors for a one-year term; and |
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Proposal
2: To ratify the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP
(“Deloitte”) as our independent registered public accounting firm
for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. |
Aside
from the election of directors and the ratification of the
appointment of our independent registered public accounting firm,
our Board of Directors knows of no matters to be presented at the
Annual Meeting. If any other matter is properly brought before the
Annual Meeting, shares represented by all proxies received by our
Board of Directors will be voted with respect thereto in accordance
with the judgment of the persons appointed as proxies.
BOARD
OF DIRECTORS VOTING RECOMMENDATION
Our
Board of Directors recommends that you vote your shares:
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“For”
the election of all director nominees; and |
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“For”
the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte as our independent
registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending
December 31, 2022. |
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HOW
TO VOTE
For
proposal 1, you may vote “For All”, “Withhold All”, “For All
Except”, or abstain from voting with respect to each nominee to the
Board of Directors. For proposal 2, you may vote “For”, “Against”,
or abstain from voting. The procedures for voting are outlined
below.
Stockholder
of Record: Shares Registered in Your Name
If you
are a stockholder of record as of the Record Date, you may vote
during the Annual Meeting by attending the Annual Meeting virtually
and following the instructions posted at
www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/MYPS2022, by proxy over the
Internet, or by phone by following the instructions provided in the
notice, or, if you request printed copies of the proxy materials by
mail, you may vote by mail. If your proxy is properly executed in
time to be voted at the Annual Meeting, the shares
represented by the proxy will be voted in accordance with the
instructions you provide. Whether or not you plan to attend the
Annual Meeting virtually, we urge you to vote by proxy to ensure
your vote is counted. You may still attend the Annual Meeting
virtually and vote during the Annual Meeting if you have already
voted by proxy.
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To
vote during the Annual Meeting, follow the instructions posted at
www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/ MYPS2022. You will be asked to
provide the 16-digit control number from the notice and follow the
instructions. |
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2. |
To
vote on the Internet, go to www.ProxyVote.com to complete an
electronic proxy card. You will be asked to provide the 16-digit
control number from the notice and follow the instructions. Your
vote must be received by 11:59 p.m., Pacific Time, on June 6, 2022
to be counted. |
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3. |
To
vote by phone, request a paper or email copy of the proxy materials
by following the instructions on the notice and call the number
provided with the proxy materials to transmit your voting
instructions. Your vote must be received by 11:59 p.m., Pacific
Time, on June 6, 2022 to be counted. |
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To
vote by mail, request a paper copy of the proxy materials by
following the instructions on the notice and complete, sign, and
date the proxy card enclosed with the paper copy of the proxy
materials and return it promptly in the envelope provided. If you
return your signed proxy card to us before the Annual Meeting, we
will vote your shares as you direct. |
Beneficial
Owner: Shares Registered in the Name of a Broker, Bank, or Other
Agent
If you
are a beneficial owner of shares registered in the name of your
broker, bank, or other agent, you should have received a notice and
voting instructions from that organization rather than from us.
Simply follow the instructions to ensure that your vote is counted.
To vote in person at the Annual Meeting you must obtain a valid
proxy from your broker, bank, or other agent. Follow the
instructions from your broker, bank, or other agent included with
the notice, or contact your broker, bank, or other
agent.
We
provide Internet proxy voting to allow you to vote your shares
online, with procedures designed to ensure the authenticity and
correctness of your proxy vote instructions. However, please be
aware that you must bear any costs associated with your Internet
access, such as usage charges from Internet access providers and
telephone companies.
VOTE
REQUIRED
In
accordance with our Certificate of Incorporation, the presence at
the Annual Meeting, in person or by proxy, of the holders of a
majority of the total voting power of all classes of our voting
stock taken together shall constitute a quorum for the transaction
of business at the Annual Meeting.
The
affirmative vote of a plurality of the total votes cast for
directors at the Annual Meeting is necessary to elect a director.
No cumulative voting is permitted. The six nominees receiving the
highest number of votes cast “for” will be elected.
The
affirmative vote of a majority of the voting power represented at
the Annual Meeting is required to approve the ratification of the
appointment of Deloitte as our independent registered public
accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. The
total number of votes cast “for” will be counted for purposes of
determining whether sufficient affirmative votes have been cast to
approve the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte as our
independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year
ending December 31, 2022.
Abstentions
from voting on a proposal by a stockholder at the Annual Meeting,
as well as broker nonvotes, will be included for purposes of
determining the number of total votes present at the Annual
Meeting. Abstentions will have the same effect as votes “against”
the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte as our independent
registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending
December 31, 2022. However, abstentions will not be counted as
“against” or “for” the election of directors. Broker nonvotes will
not be considered in determining the election of directors or the
ratification of the appointment of Deloitte as our independent
registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending
December 31, 2022.
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Andrew
Pascal, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, currently
possesses approximately 75% of the total voting power of our issued
and outstanding shares. Please see “Security Ownership of Certain
Beneficial Owners and Management” below. Mr. Pascal has indicated
his intention to vote: (1) for the election of each of the director
nominees and (2) for the ratification of the appointment of
Deloitte as our independent registered public accounting firm for
the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. Accordingly, the election
of each of the director nominees and the ratification of the
appointment of Deloitte as our independent registered public
accounting firm are assured notwithstanding a contrary vote by any
or all stockholders other than Mr. Pascal.
HOW
TO CHANGE YOUR VOTE AFTER SUBMITTING PROXY
You
can revoke your proxy at any time before the final vote at the
Annual Meeting. If you are a stockholder of record, you may revoke
your proxy in any one of three ways:
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You
may submit a duly executed proxy card with a later date or time
than the previously submitted proxy; |
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You
may send a written notice that you are revoking your proxy to our
Secretary, Joel Agena, c/o PLAYSTUDIOS, Inc., 10150 Covington Cross
Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89144; or |
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3. |
You
may submit a later-dated vote on the Internet or by phone or a
ballot cast online during the Annual Meeting (simply virtually
attending the Annual Meeting will not, by itself, revoke your
proxy). |
If you
are a beneficial owner, you may revoke your proxy by submitting new
instructions to your broker, bank, or other agent, or if you have
received a proxy from your broker, bank, or other agent giving you
the right to vote your shares at the Annual Meeting, by attending
the meeting virtually and voting during the meeting.
HOW
TO SUBMIT STOCKHOLDER PROPOSALS FOR NEXT YEAR’S ANNUAL
MEETING
Pursuant
to Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
(the “Exchange Act”), some stockholder proposals may be eligible
for inclusion in our 2023 proxy statement. Any such proposal must
be submitted in writing by December 29, 2022 to our Secretary, Joel
Agena, c/o PLAYSTUDIOS, Inc., 10150 Covington Cross Drive, Las
Vegas, NV 89144. If we change the date of our 2023 Annual Meeting
by more than thirty days from the date of the previous year’s
annual meeting, the deadline shall be a reasonable time before we
begin to print and send our proxy materials. Stockholders
interested in submitting such a proposal are advised to contact
knowledgeable counsel with regard to the detailed requirements of
the applicable securities laws and our Bylaws. The submission of a
stockholder proposal does not guarantee that it will be included in
our proxy statement.
Our
Bylaws also establish an advance notice procedure for stockholders
who wish to present a proposal before an annual meeting of
stockholders, but do not intend for the proposal to be included in
our proxy statement. Our Bylaws provide that if you wish to submit
a proposal that is not to be included in next year’s proxy
statement or nominate a director, a timely written notice of
a stockholder proposal must be delivered to, or mailed and received
by our Secretary, Joel Agena, care of PLAYSTUDIOS, Inc., 10150
Covington Cross Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89144, no earlier than the
150th day and no later than the 120th day prior to the anniversary
of the preceding year’s annual meeting of stockholders. Therefore,
we must receive notice of such stockholder proposal no earlier than
January 8, 2023 and no later than February 7, 2023, which notice
must contain the information specified in our Bylaws. If we change
the date of our 2022 Annual Meeting by more than thirty days
before, or more than 70 days after, the one-year anniversary of the
2022 Annual Meeting, then the written notice of a stockholder
proposal that is not intended to be included in our proxy statement
must be delivered, or mailed and received, no earlier than 120th
day prior to our 2023 Annual Meeting date and no later than the
70th day prior to our 2023 Annual Meeting or, if later, the tenth
day following the day on which certain public disclosure as
described in our Bylaws of the meeting date is made. The public
announcement of an adjournment or postponement of the 2023 Annual
Meeting does not commence a new time period (or extend any time
period) for the giving of a stockholder’s notice as described in
this Proxy Statement. You are advised to review our Bylaws, which
contain additional requirements with respect to advance notice of
stockholder proposals and director nominees.
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HOUSEHOLDING
We
have adopted a procedure approved by the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) called “householding.” Under this
procedure, service providers that deliver our communications to
stockholders may deliver a single copy of our Annual Report, Proxy
Statement, or Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials to
multiple stockholders sharing the same address, unless one or more
of these stockholders notifies us that they wish to continue
receiving individual copies. Stockholders who participate in
householding will continue to receive separate proxy cards. This
householding procedure reduces our printing costs and postage
fees.
We
will deliver promptly upon written or oral request a separate copy
of our Annual Report, Proxy Statement, or Notice of Internet
Availability of Proxy Materials, as applicable, to a stockholder at
a shared address to which a single copy of the documents was
delivered. In order to receive a separate copy of our Annual
Report, Proxy Statement, or Notice of Internet Availability of
Proxy Materials, please notify Broadridge Financial Solutions at
www.ProxyVote.com or contact us at:
PLAYSTUDIOS,
Inc.
10150
Covington Cross Drive
Las
Vegas, NV 89144
(725)
877-7000
If you
are eligible for householding, but you and other stockholders with
whom you share an address currently receive multiple copies of our
Annual Reports, Proxy Statements and/or Notices of Internet
Availability of Proxy Materials, or if you hold stock in more than
one account, and in either case you wish to receive only a single
copy of our Annual Report, Proxy Statement, or Notice of Internet
Availability of Proxy Materials for your household, please contact
Broadridge Financial Solutions in the manner provided
above.
HOW
TO OBTAIN THE RESULTS OF VOTING AT ANNUAL MEETING
Preliminary
voting results will be announced at the Annual Meeting. Final
voting results will be published in a Current Report on Form 8-K
filed with the SEC within four business days following the Annual
Meeting. If final voting results are not available to us within
four business days following the Annual Meeting, we will file a
Current Report on Form 8-K to publish preliminary results and will
file an additional Current Report on Form 8-K to publish the final
voting results within four business days of such final voting
results being made available to us.
COSTS
OF SOLICITATION
The
costs of preparing, printing, and assembling the materials used in
the solicitation of proxies from our stockholders are borne by the
Company. In addition to the solicitation of proxies by mail, we may
use the services of certain of our employees (for no additional
compensation) to solicit proxies personally and by mail, telephone
and electronic means from brokerage firms and other stockholders.
We may also reimburse brokerage firms, banks and other agents, upon
their request, for the costs of forwarding our proxy materials to
beneficial owners of stock held in their name.
OUR
MAILING ADDRESS
Our
mailing address is 10150 Covington Cross Drive, Las Vegas, NV
89144.
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PROPOSAL NO. 1 - ELECTION OF
DIRECTORS
NOMINEES
Our stockholders will elect a Board of six directors at the Annual
Meeting. Each of the directors is expected to hold office until the
next annual meeting of our stockholders, or until his or her
respective successor shall be duly elected and qualified. The
affirmative vote of a plurality of the total votes cast for
directors is necessary to elect a director. This means that the six
nominees who receive the most votes will be elected to the six open
directorships, even if they get less than a majority of the votes
cast. Each nominee has consented to his or her nomination and has
advised us that he or she intends to serve if elected. If at the
time of the Annual Meeting one or more of the nominees have become
unable to serve: (i) shares represented by proxies will be voted
for the remaining nominees and for any substitute nominee or
nominees; or (ii) the Board of Directors may, in accordance with
our Bylaws, reduce the size of the Board of Directors or may leave
a vacancy until a nominee is identified.
The following is a brief biography of each nominee for director and
a discussion of the specific experience, qualifications,
attributes, or skills for each nominee that led the Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee of the Board of Directors to
recommend that person as a nominee for director as of the date of
this Proxy Statement.
NAME |
AGE |
POSITION |
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Andrew
Pascal |
55 |
Chief
Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board |
James
Murren |
59 |
Director |
Jason
Krikorian |
50 |
Director |
Joe
Horowitz |
69 |
Director |
Judy
K. Mencher |
64 |
Director |
Steven
J. Zanella |
52 |
Director |
Director
Biographies
The following is a brief biographical summary of the experience of
our directors and director nominees:
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Mr. Pascal has served as our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman
of the Board of Directors since June 21, 2021, and prior to this
served as a Co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of
PlayStudios, Inc. (“Old PLAYSTUDIOS”), which he co-founded in 2011.
Prior to co-founding Old PLAYSTUDIOS, Mr. Pascal served as Senior
Vice President of Product Marketing and Development at Wynn Las
Vegas, a luxury casino resort property owned by Wynn Resorts, Ltd.,
beginning in 2003 during the project’s development phase, before
ascending to the roles of President and Chief Operating Officer in
2005. Throughout Mr. Pascal’s tenure, Wynn Las Vegas garnered
multiple awards from the world’s leading hospitality guides. In
2008, Mr. Pascal led the development and launch of Wynn Las Vegas’
sister property, Encore Las Vegas. From 2001 to 2003, Mr. Pascal
served as President and Chief Executive Officer of WagerWorks,
Inc., a company he founded as a casino solutions and content
supplier for many of the world’s largest gaming and media brands.
Following Mr. Pascal’s departure, WagerWorks was acquired by
International Game Technology. Mr. Pascal holds a Bachelor of Arts
in Economics from the University of Colorado, Boulder. We believe
Mr. Pascal is qualified to serve on the Board of Directors based on
his substantial business experience, leadership, and management
experience as the Chief Executive Officer of Old PLAYSTUDIOS and
previously as a founder of, and executive director at, other
software companies. |
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ANDREW
PASCAL
Chief Executive
Officer
and
Chairman of the
Board
Age: 55
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Mr. Murren has served as a member of
the Board of Directors since June 21, 2021, and prior to this,
served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Acies Acquisition
Corp. (“Acies”), our predecessor, a special-purpose acquisition
company, or SPAC, since August 2020. Mr. Murren is also the Chair
of the Nevada COVID-19 Response, Relief and Recovery Task Force. He
was the chair of the Leadership Board of the University of Southern
California’s Keck School of Medicine and has been a member of the
Board of Trustees for Howard University since 2016. Mr. Murren
first joined MGM Resorts International in 1998 as the Chief
Financial Officer and served as the Chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts
International from December 2008 to February 2020. He also served
as Chairman of the American Gaming Association from 2014 to 2017,
was on the Board of Trustees of the Brookings Institution from 2011
to 2018, served on the National Infrastructure Advisory Council
from December 2013 to 2020, and served as a director of Delta
Petroleum Corporation from February 2008 to November 2011. Mr.
Murren co-founded the Nevada Cancer Institute, which was the
official cancer institute for the state of Nevada until 2013, and
served as a director from 2002 to 2012. Mr. Murren is also a
founding contributor to Nevada’s first Fisher House, which provides
housing for military and Veterans’ families, which was founded in
February 2016. He also served as a member of the Business
Roundtable, an association of CEOs of leading U.S. companies. Mr.
Murren received his Bachelor of Arts from Trinity College. He is a
CFA® charterholder. We believe Mr. Murren is qualified to serve on
the Board of Directors due to his significant leadership experience
and his understanding of the entertainment and gaming
industry.
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JAMES
MURREN
Director
Age: 59
Board Committees:
Audit, Chair
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Mr. Krikorian has served as a member of the Board of Directors
since June 21, 2021. He has been a General Partner of DCM, an
international venture capital firm, since 2010 as well as a member
of the board of directors of Matterport, Inc. since 2014, Augmedix,
Inc. since June 2017 and Shift Technologies, Inc. since September
2018. He also has experience as a board member of other private
companies. Before joining DCM, Mr. Krikorian was a co-founder of
Sling Media, Inc., a pioneering digital media company and creator
of the Slingbox, where he led the establishment of partnerships
with global multiple system operators and mobile operators, as well
as the international expansion of the company. Prior to Sling
Media, Mr. Krikorian was a partner at id8 Group where he advised
leading global brands on product and business strategy focusing on
digital media and mobile device platforms. He also spent time at
the Boston Consulting Group, where he advised Fortune 500 clients
in the retail, automotive, and utilities sectors. Mr. Krikorian
holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of
California, Berkeley, and both a Master of Business Administration
and Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia. We believe Mr.
Krikorian is qualified to serve on the Board of Directors due to
his experience as an investor in the mobile device platforms space
and his background and understanding of the Internet and digital
media industries. |
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JASON
KRIKORIAN
Director
Age: 50
Board Committees:
Audit and Nominating and Corporate
Governance Chair
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Mr. Horowitz has served as a member of the Board of Directors since
June 21, 2021. Mr. Horowitz has been the Managing General Partner
of Icon Ventures, a leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm,
since 2003. Mr. Horowitz was also a founder of Icon Ventures in
2003 and has overseen its growth from $100 million in assets under
management to $1.1 billion. Mr. Horowitz’s venture capital
experience also includes a 10-year tenure at U.S. Venture Partners,
where the first deal that he worked on was the seed financing of
Sun Microsystems. He was also Chairman and CEO of Geocast Network
Systems, a broadband infrastructure company backed by Mayfield,
Kleiner Perkins and Institutional Venture Partners. Current Icon
Ventures portfolio companies that Mr. Horowitz is a board member
of, or actively involved with, include Area 1 Security, Global
Worldwide, Synack, TuneIn and Volansi. He has also served on the
board of the National Venture Capital Association and was
previously a board member of the Western Association of Venture
Capitalists. Mr. Horowitz holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics
from Columbia University and a Master of Business Administration
from the Wharton Graduate School of Business. We believe Mr.
Horowitz is qualified to serve on the Board of Directors due to his
experience as an investor, board member or executive officer of
multiple technology companies and his understanding of the
technology industry. |
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JOE
HOROWITZ
Director
Age: 69
Board Committees:
Compensation and Corporate
Governance
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9 |
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Ms. Mencher has served as a member of the Board of Directors since
June 21, 2021. Ms. Mencher currently serves as a member of the
board of directors of New Millennium Homes, a California home
builder, since 1997 and Spiral Water Technologies, a New Jersey
manufacturer of advanced water filtration systems, since November
2018. Ms. Mencher is also the founder and Chief Executive Officer
of Race Point Investors, LLC, a consultancy firm that specializes
in advising various private equity funds and hedge funds on
distressed investments and other matters, since March 2018. Prior
to joining Race Point Investors, LLC, Ms. Mencher served as
Principal of DDJ Capital Management, a firm that specializes in
high yield and distressed investing, with assets under management
during her tenure of $1 billion to $3 billion from 1996 to 2006.
Ms. Mencher holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Tufts
University and both a Juris Doctorate and Master of Business
Administration from Boston University. We believe Ms. Mencher is
qualified to serve on the Board of Directors due to her experience
as a board member of other companies and in evaluating investments,
as well as her background in finance. |
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JUDY K.
MENCHER
Director
Age: 64
Board
Committees:
Audit and Compensation
Chair
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Mr. Zanella has served as a member of the Board of Directors since
December 21, 2021, and was a member of the board of directors of
Old PLAYSTUDIOS from June 2020 to June 2021. Mr. Zanella is the
Chief Commercial Officer at MGM Resorts International and oversees
Public Relations, Marketing, Direct Marketing, Group Sales, Social
Media, Sports & Sponsorships, Loyalty and Commercial Strategy.
Prior to taking on his current role with MGM Resorts International,
Mr. Zanella served as President and Chief Operating Officer of
CityCenter from 2019 to 2020, where he oversaw daily operations and
provided strategic direction for the ultra-luxury resorts, which
includes Aria Resort & Casino and Vdara Hotel & Spa. From
2016 to 2019, Mr. Zanella served as President of Core Properties
which managed a portfolio of Las Vegas properties and several
corporate departments. From 2013 to 2016, Mr. Zanella held the
position of President and Chief Operating Officer of MGM Grand
Detroit where he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of
one of the most dynamic resorts in the region. In addition to
overseeing all resort operations and guiding the property’s
strategic direction, he cultivated MGM Grand Detroit’s guest
service culture and fostered open communication and teamwork within
the property and across MGM Resorts International. A veteran of the
hospitality industry with more than 30 years of experience, he
joined MGM Resorts International in 1991 as a participant in the
Management Associate Program, which is a hands-on training
curriculum for college graduates. In his tenure with MGM Resorts
International, Mr. Zanella has also served as Senior Vice President
of Marketing for MGM Grand Las Vegas, Vice President of Slots at
Beau Rivage, Director of Slot Marketing and Player Development also
at Beau Rivage and Domestic Marketing Administrator for Table Games
Marketing at The Mirage. Mr. Zanella holds a Bachelor of Science in
Hotel Administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and a
Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan’s
Stephen M. Ross School of Business. We believe Mr. Zanella is
qualified to serve on the Board of Directors due to his significant
management experience as a senior executive of a public company and
his understanding of the entertainment and gaming
industry.
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STEVEN J.
ZANELLA
Director
Age: 52
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Board
Diversity Matrix (As of April 13, 2022) |
Total
Number of Directors |
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6 |
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Female |
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Male |
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Non-Binary |
|
Did
Not
Disclose
Gender
|
Gender
Identity |
Directors |
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1 |
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5 |
|
— |
|
— |
Demographic
Background |
|
African
American or Black |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
Alaskan
Native or Native American |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
Asian |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
Hispanic
or Latinx |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
Native
Hawaiian or Pacific Islander |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
White |
|
1 |
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5 |
|
— |
|
— |
Two or
More Races or Ethnicities |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
LGBTQ+ |
|
1 |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
Persons
with Disabilities |
— |
The Board of Directors
recommends a vote FOR the election of each of the director
nominees.
 |
10 |
Executive Officer Biographies
The following is a brief biographical summary of the experience of
our executive officers:
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Mr. Peterson has served as our Chief Financial Officer since June
21, 2021 and prior to this served as the Chief Financial Officer of
Old PLAYSTUDIOS since June 2017. Mr. Peterson is a seasoned finance
executive with expertise in accounting, financial management, and
compliance, and brings more than 20 years of senior level financial
leadership of public and private companies. In 2005, he was named
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Wynn Macau, and
returned to Las Vegas as the Senior Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer of Wynn Las Vegas in 2009 and continued in such
position until 2015. Mr. Peterson’s responsibilities encompassed
all aspects of finance, accounting, and both casino and hotel
finance operations. He was also the principal finance and
accounting officer responsible for casino and hotel compliance with
Wynn’s internal controls, as well as state and federal requirements
under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
Mr. Peterson holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the
University of Southern California. |
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SCOTT
PETERSON
Chief Financial
Officer
Age: 54
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Mr. Agena has served as our General Counsel and Secretary since
February 23, 2022, and as our Vice President, Legal Counsel and
Secretary since June 21, 2021, and prior to this served as the Vice
President, Legal Counsel and Secretary of Old PLAYSTUDIOS since
January 2019. Mr. Agena is responsible for overseeing all of our
legal affairs, including corporate governance, mergers and
acquisitions, securities, finance, general business, and content
licensing. Mr. Agena has more than 23 years of experience as a
practicing attorney. Prior to joining Old PLAYSTUDIOS in January
2019, Mr. Agena served as Old PLAYSTUDIOS’ outside counsel since
its inception in 2011. In 2001 he founded The Phoenix Law Group
where his practice was focused on acting as outside general counsel
for emerging growth companies. Mr. Agena received a Juris Doctorate
from the University of Nebraska, College of Law in 1997 where he
was a Member of the Law Review, Order of the Coif, and an Arthur E.
Perry Scholar. |
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JOEL
AGENA
General Counsel and
Secretary
Age: 59
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11 |
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
MATTERS
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
GUIDELINES
Our Board has adopted Corporate Governance Guidelines that address,
among other topics, the role and responsibilities of our directors,
the structure and composition of our Board, and corporate
governance policies and standards applicable to us in general. The
Corporate Governance Guidelines are subject to periodic reviews and
changes by our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and
our Board. The full text of our Corporate Governance Guidelines is
available on the investor relations page on our website at
ir.playstudios.com.
CODE OF BUSINESS CONDUCT AND
ETHICS
We have adopted a code of business conduct and ethics that applies
to all of our employees, officers, and directors, including our
chief executive officer, chief financial officer, and other
executive and senior financial officers. The full text of our code
of business conduct and ethics is available on the investor
relations page on our website at ir.playstudios.com. We intend to
post any amendment to our code of business conduct and ethics, and
any waivers of its requirements, on our website or in filings under
the Exchange Act to the extent required by applicable rules or
regulations or listing requirements of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
(“Nasdaq”). Information on or that can be accessed through our
website is not part of this Proxy Statement.
CONTROLLED COMPANY
EXEMPTION
Andrew Pascal and his affiliates, directly and indirectly
beneficially own or control more than 50% of the combined voting
power for the election of directors. As a result, we are a
“controlled company” within the meaning of the corporate governance
standards of Nasdaq and may elect not to comply with certain
corporate governance standards, including, but not limited to, the
following requirements:
● |
that a
majority of the Board of Directors consist of directors who qualify
as “independent” as defined under the rules of Nasdaq; |
● |
that we have a
nominating and corporate governance committee and, if we have such
a committee, that it is composed entirely of independent directors;
and |
● |
that we have a
compensation committee and, if we have such a committee, that it is
composed entirely of independent directors. |
Although as of the date of this Proxy Statement, we do not utilize
any of these exemptions, we may elect to utilize one or more of
these exemptions for so long as we remain a “controlled company.”
Accordingly, you may not have the same protections afforded to
stockholders of companies that are subject to all of these
corporate governance requirements. In the event that we cease to be
a “controlled company” and our shares continue to be listed on
Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with these provisions within
the applicable transition periods.
DIRECTOR
INDEPENDENCE
Based upon information requested from and provided by each director
concerning his or her background, employment and affiliations,
including family relationships, we have determined that James
Murren, Jason Krikorian, Joe Horowitz, Judy K. Mencher,
representing four of PLAYSTUDIOS’ six directors, are “independent”
as that term is defined under the applicable rules and regulations
of the SEC and the listing requirements and rules of the
Nasdaq.
ROLE OF BOARD IN RISK
OVERSIGHT
The Board of Directors has extensive involvement in the oversight
of risk management related to the Company and our business and
accomplishes this oversight through the regular reporting to the
Board of Directors by the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee
represents the Board of Directors by periodically reviewing our
accounting, reporting, and financial practices, including the
integrity of our financial statements, the surveillance of
administrative and financial controls, and our compliance with
legal and regulatory requirements. Through its regular meetings
with management, including the finance, legal, internal audit, and
information technology functions, the Audit Committee reviews and
discusses all significant areas of our business and summarizes for
the Board of Directors all areas of risk, including those related
to cybersecurity, information security and data privacy, and the
appropriate mitigating factors. In addition, the Board of Directors
receives periodic detailed operating performance reviews from
management.
 |
12 |
COMMUNICATIONS WITH
DIRECTORS
Interested parties may communicate with our Board or with an
individual director by writing to our Board or to the particular
director and mailing the correspondence to: PLAYSTUDIOS, Inc.,
10150 Covington Cross Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89144. The Corporate
Secretary will promptly relay to the addressee all communications
that he determines require prompt attention and will regularly
provide our Board with a summary of all substantive
communications.
BOARD
QUALIFICATIONS
Our Board has delegated to our Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee the responsibility for recommending to our Board the
nominees for election as directors at the annual meeting of
stockholders and for recommending persons to fill any vacancy on
our Board. Directors are selected on the basis of experience in
finance and business, and knowledge about the Company and the
industry in which we operate. As a majority of our Board must
consist of individuals who are independent, since we are not
utilizing any of the “controlled company” exemptions, a nominee’s
ability to meet the independence criteria established by the
listing requirements of Nasdaq is also a factor in the nominee
selection process.
For a better understanding of the qualifications of each of our
directors, we encourage you to read their biographies set forth in
this Proxy Statement.
DIRECTOR
NOMINATIONS
The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will consider
candidates for directors recommended by stockholders so long as the
recommendations comply with our Certificate of Incorporation and
Bylaws and applicable laws, rules and regulations, including those
promulgated by the SEC. The Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee will evaluate such recommendations in accordance with its
charter, our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws, our corporate
governance guidelines, and the regular nominee criteria described
above. Stockholders wishing to recommend a candidate for nomination
should comply with the procedures set forth in the section above
entitled “How to Submit Stockholder Proposals for Next Year’s
Annual Meeting.”
ATTENDANCE AT ANNUAL
MEETING
The Company does not have a formal policy requiring the members of
our Board of Directors to attend its annual meetings of
stockholders, although directors are encouraged to attend annual
meetings of stockholders.
This is the first annual meeting of stockholders following the
closing of the transactions on June 21, 2021 (the “Closing”)
contemplated by that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as
of February 1, 2021, by and among Acies, Catalyst Merger Sub I,
Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of Acies
(“First Merger Sub”), Catalyst Merger Sub II, LLC, a Delaware
limited liability company and wholly owned subsidiary of Acies
(“Second Merger Sub”), and Old PLAYSTUDIOS (the “Merger
Agreement”). Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, Old PLAYSTUDIOS
merged with First Merger Sub with Old PLAYSTUDIOS surviving the
merger (the “First Merger”), and immediately thereafter, and as
part of an integrated transaction with the First Merger, Old
PLAYSTUDIOS then merged with Second Merger Sub, with Second Merger
Sub surviving the merger (such transactions, the “Business
Combination”). As part of the Business Combination, Acies changed
its name to PLAYSTUDIOS, Inc. and Second Merger Sub changed its
name to PLAYSTUDIOS US, LLC. PLAYSTUDIOS is continuing the existing
business operations of Old PLAYSTUDIOS as a publicly traded
company.
Prior to the Closing of the Business Combination, Acies, our
predecessor, was a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC,
with limited operations. Acies did not hold a formal annual meeting
of stockholders in 2021, but instead held an extraordinary general
meeting of shareholders (in lieu of an annual meeting), which was
attended by members of the Acies’ Board of Directors including
James Murren, no other member of our current Board was serving as a
director of Acies’ Board of Directors at the time of the 2021
extraordinary general meeting of shareholders.
 |
13 |
RELATED-PARTY TRANSACTION
POLICY
The Board of Directors has adopted a written related party
transaction approval policy pursuant to which the Audit Committee
will review and approve or take such other actions as it may deem
appropriate with respect to the following transactions:
● |
a transaction
in which we are a participant and which involves an amount
exceeding $120,000 and in which any of our directors, officers or
5% stockholders, or any other “related person” as defined in Item
404 of SEC Regulation S-K (“Item 404”), has or will have a direct
or indirect material interest; and |
● |
any other transaction that meets
the related party disclosure requirements of the SEC as set forth
in Item 404. |
In reviewing and approving any such transactions, the policy
requires that the Audit Committee consider the relevant facts and
circumstances available and deemed relevant, including the nature
of the related person’s interest in the transaction whether the
transaction is on terms comparable to those that could be obtained
in an arm’s length transaction. This policy also provides that the
following transactions are deemed pre-approved:
● |
decisions on compensation of our
directors or executive officers, if required to be disclosed in our
proxy statement; |
● |
certain ordinary course
transactions where a related person has a limited interest; |
● |
transactions
where a related person’s interest or benefit arises solely from
such person’s ownership of our securities and holders of such
securities receive the same benefit on a pro rata basis; and |
● |
transactions where the rates or
charges involved in the transactions are determined by competitive
bids. |
Other than the transactions described below under “Certain
Relationships and Related-Party and Other Transactions,” there have
been no other related person transactions that require disclosure
under the SEC rules since the beginning of our last completed
fiscal year.
BOARD LEADERSHIP
STRUCTURE
Our Board will fill the Chairman of our Board and CEO positions
based upon our Board’s view of what is in the best interests of
PLAYSTUDIOS. The CEO and Chairman may, but need not be, the same
person. Currently, Andrew Pascal is our CEO and the Chairman of our
Board. Jason Krikorian is our lead independent director. The lead
director serves as the principal liaison between the independent
directors and the Chairman of our Board. In that capacity, the lead
director presides over executive sessions of the independent
directors, chairs Board meetings in the Chairman’s absence, and
collaborates with the Chairman of our Board on agendas, schedules
and materials for Board meetings.
We believe this leadership structure is best for the Company and
our stockholders at this time. Having a single leader for both
PLAYSTUDIOS and our Board minimizes the potential for confusion or
duplication of efforts, and provides clear leadership and
accountability for the Company. We believe there is good
communication between management and our non-employee directors,
and that our non-employee directors are able to carry out their
oversight responsibilities effectively.
Our Board believes that management speaks for PLAYSTUDIOS. While
individual non-employee directors may, from time-to-time, meet or
otherwise communicate with various constituencies that are involved
with us, it is expected that directors would do this with the
knowledge of management and, absent unusual circumstances, only at
the request of management.
BOARD MEETINGS AND
COMMITTEES
Our Board of Directors met six times after the Closing of the
Business Combination and prior to December 31, 2021. In 2021, for
the period during which each director served in such role, each of
our incumbent directors attended or participated in at least 75% of
the aggregate number of (i) the meetings of the Board and (ii) the
meetings of the respective committees of which the applicable
director was a member. Our Board has an Audit Committee, a
Compensation Committee, and a Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee, each of which has the composition and responsibilities
described below. Members serve on these committees until their
resignation or until otherwise determined by the Board of
Directors. Each committee is governed by a written charter. Each
committee charter is posted on our website at
https://ir.playstudios.com/corporate-governance/board-committees.
From time to time, our Board may also establish other, special
committees when necessary to address specific issues.
 |
14 |
Audit Committee
Our Audit Committee met two times after the Closing of the Business
Combination and prior to December 31, 2021. The Audit Committee
consists of Jason Krikorian, Judy K. Mencher, and James Murren,
each of whom is a non-employee member of the Board of Directors.
James Murren is the chair of the Audit Committee. The Board of
Directors has determined that each of the members of the Audit
Committee satisfies the requirements for independence and financial
literacy under the rules and regulations of Nasdaq and the SEC. The
Board of Directors has also determined that James Murren qualifies
as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in the SEC
rules and regulations and satisfies the financial sophistication
requirements of Nasdaq. The Audit Committee is responsible for,
among other things:
● |
selecting and hiring a registered
public accounting firm; |
● |
evaluating the performance and
independence of the registered public accounting firm; |
● |
approving the
audit and pre-approving any non-audit services to be performed by
the registered public accounting firm; |
● |
reviewing
the integrity of our financial statements and related disclosures
and reviewing our critical accounting policies and practices; |
● |
reviewing the
adequacy and effectiveness of our internal control policies and
procedures and our disclosure controls and procedures; |
● |
overseeing
procedures for the treatment of complaints relating to accounting,
internal accounting controls or audit matters; |
● |
reviewing and
discussing with management and the registered public accounting
firm the results of the annual audit, our quarterly financial
statements, and our publicly filed reports; |
● |
establishing
procedures for employees to anonymously submit concerns about
questionable accounting or audit matters; |
● |
reviewing and approving in advance
any proposed related-person transactions; and |
● |
preparing the Audit Committee
report that the SEC requires in our annual proxy statement. |
Compensation
Committee
Our Compensation Committee met one time after the Closing of the
Business Combination and prior to December 31, 2021. The
Compensation Committee consists of Joe Horowitz and Judy K.
Mencher, each of whom is a non-employee member of the Board of
Directors. Judy K. Mencher is the chair of the Compensation
Committee. The Board of Directors has determined that each member
of the Compensation Committee meets the requirements for
independence under the rules and regulations of Nasdaq and the SEC.
The Compensation Committee is responsible for, among other
things:
● |
determining, or
recommending to the Board of Directors for determination, the
compensation of the executive officers, including the chief
executive officer; |
● |
overseeing and setting compensation
for the members of the Board of Directors; |
● |
administering our equity
compensation plans; |
● |
overseeing our overall compensation
policies and practices, compensation plans, and benefits programs;
and |
● |
preparing the Compensation
Committee report that the SEC requires in our annual proxy
statement. |
In determining, or recommending for determination, executive
officer compensation, the Compensation Committee considers
individual and company goals and performance, as well as data
sources regarding compensation paid by comparable companies. In
furtherance of its oversight duties, the Compensation Committee
conducts reviews and evaluations of the Company’s overall and
executive compensation and benefits practices, plans and policies
generally, including the review and recommendation of any
incentive-compensation and equity-based plans of the Company that
are subject to Board approval.
 |
15 |
The Compensation Committee may delegate its authority to
subcommittees or the Chair of the Compensation Committee when it
deems it appropriate and in our best interests. The Compensation
Committee may delegate to one or more officers the authority to
make grants and awards of stock rights or options to any
non-Section 16 officer under such of the Company’s
incentive-compensation or other equity-based plans as the
Compensation Committee deems appropriate and in accordance with the
terms of such plans. The Compensation Committee may delegate to one
or more officers the authority to set overall compensation policies
and practices, compensation plans and benefits programs as the
Compensation Committee deems appropriate, other than with respect
to our executive officers.
The Compensation Committee has the sole authority to retain or
obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel, or
other adviser and shall be directly responsible for the
appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of any such
adviser retained by the Compensation Committee.
The Compensation Committee engaged Compensia, Inc., a national
compensation consulting firm, as an independent compensation
consultant in the last fiscal year to assist with advice on
executive compensation, director compensation, and incentive plan
design. Compensia did not provide any other material services
(separate from consulting advice provided to the Compensation
Committee) in 2021.
Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee
The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee consists of Joe
Horowitz and Jason Krikorian, each of whom is a non-employee member
of the Board of Directors. Jason Krikorian serves as the chair of
the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. The Board of
Directors has determined that each member of our Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee meets the requirements for
independence under the rules and regulations of Nasdaq and the SEC.
The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible
for, among other things:
● |
evaluating and
making recommendations regarding the composition, organization and
governance of the Board of Directors and its committees; |
● |
reviewing and
making recommendations with regard to our corporate governance
guidelines and compliance with laws and regulations; |
● |
reviewing
conflicts of interest of the directors and executive officers and
proposed waivers of our corporate governance guidelines and code of
business conduct and ethics; and |
● |
evaluating the performance of the
Board of Directors and its committees. |
When evaluating candidates and making recommendations for director
nominees, including incumbents, the Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee reviews and considers our current and future
needs to ensure that the Board of Directors has the appropriate
balance of knowledge, experience, skills, expertise, judgment,
perspectives, and backgrounds. The Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee also seeks appropriate input from senior
management in assessing the needs of the Board of Directors for
relevant knowledge, experience, skills, expertise, judgment,
perspective, and background of its members.
The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee’s goal is to
assemble a Board that brings the Company a diversity of experience
at policy-making levels in areas that are relevant to our
activities. Directors should possess the highest personal and
professional ethics, integrity, and values and be committed to
representing the long-term interests of our stockholders. They must
have an inquisitive and objective outlook and mature judgment. They
must also have experience in positions with a high degree of
responsibility and be leaders in the companies or institutions with
which they are, or have been, affiliated. Director candidates must
have sufficient time available, in the judgment of the Nominating
and Corporate Governance Committee, to perform all Board and
committee responsibilities that will be expected of them. Directors
are expected to rigorously prepare for, attend and participate in
all meetings of the Board of Directors and applicable committees.
While we do not have a specific policy regarding diversity, when
considering the nomination of directors, the Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee does consider the diversity of its
directors and nominees in terms of knowledge, experience, skills,
expertise, judgment, perspective, background, and other demographic
factors. Other than the foregoing, there are no specific minimum
criteria for director nominees. The Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee believes it appropriate for one or more key
members of the Company’s management, including the Chief Executive
Officer, to serve on the Board of Directors.
 |
16 |
If the Board determines to seek directors for nomination, the
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will consider
candidates proposed by directors or management, and will evaluate
any such candidates against the criteria and pursuant to the
policies and procedures set forth above. The Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee may engage, as appropriate, a third
party search firm to assist in identifying qualified candidates.
The nominating process may also include interviews and additional
background and reference checks for non-incumbent nominees, at the
discretion of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. In
addition, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may
consider recommendations for nominees that are timely submitted by
stockholders if such recommendations are delivered in the manner
prescribed by the advance notice provisions contained in our
Bylaws.
 |
17 |
DIRECTOR
COMPENSATION
We
have adopted a new non-employee director compensation program which
is designed to provide competitive compensation necessary to
attract and retain high quality non-employee directors and to
encourage ownership of our stock to further align their interests
with those of our stockholders. The program provides the following
compensation for non-employee directors:
● |
An
annual cash retainer of $40,000; |
● |
An
annual cash retainer of $5,000 for the chair of a board
committee; |
● |
An
annual cash retainer of $10,000 for members of each
committee; |
● |
An
annual grant of restricted stock units under the 2021 Equity
Incentive Plan (the “2021 Plan”) with a target grant value
of $150,000 for each director who has completed six months’
service, which vests monthly over one year; and |
● |
An
additional annual cash retainer of $20,000 for serving as our
non-executive chair, if applicable. |
DIRECTOR COMPENSATION
TABLE
The
following table provides information concerning the compensation of
each non-employee director who served on the Board of Directors
during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.
|
FEE
EARNED |
|
|
|
|
|
OR
PAID IN |
|
|
|
|
NAME |
CASH
($) |
STOCK
AWARDS |
OPTION
AWARDS |
COMPENSATION
($) |
TOTAL
($) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
William
(Bill) J. Hornbuckle(1) |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
James Murren |
29,028 |
– |
– |
– |
29,028 |
Jason Krikorian |
34,306 |
– |
– |
– |
34,306 |
Joe Horowitz |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
Judy K. Mencher |
34,306 |
– |
– |
– |
34,306 |
Steven J. Zanella(2) |
1,183 |
– |
– |
– |
1,183 |
|
(1) |
Mr.
Hornbuckle ceased serving on the Board of Directors on December 20,
2021. |
|
(2) |
Mr.
Zanella began serving on the Board of Directors on December 21,
2021. |
 |
18 |
OWNERSHIP OF COMMON
STOCK
The
following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial
ownership of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock as
of April 13, 2022 by:
|
a. |
each
of our directors and executive officers; |
|
b. |
all
directors and executive officers as a group; and |
|
c. |
each
person who is known to us to own beneficially more than 5% of our
common stock. |
Beneficial
ownership is determined according to the rules of the SEC, which
generally provide that a person has beneficial ownership of a
security if he, she or it possesses sole or shared voting or
investment power over that security, including options and warrants
that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days. In
computing the number of shares of common stock beneficially owned
by a person and the percentage ownership, we deemed outstanding
shares of our common stock subject to options and warrants held by
that person that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60
days. We did not deem these shares outstanding, however, for the
purpose of computing the percentage ownership of any other
person.
The
percentage ownership of common stock is based on 110,339,318 shares
of Class A common stock and 16,130,300 shares of Class B common
stock outstanding as of April 13, 2022.
Unless
otherwise indicated and subject to applicable community property
laws, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole
voting and investment power with respect to all shares of our
common stock beneficially owned by them.
|
CLASS
A
COMMON
STOCK |
|
CLASS
B
COMMON
STOCK |
|
NAME AND ADDRESS OF
BENEFICIAL OWNER (1) |
NUMBER |
% |
|
NUMBER |
% |
COMBINED
VOTING
POWER** |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
5%
Holders of New PLAYSTUDIOS: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
MGM
Resorts International(2) |
16,647,124 |
15.1% |
|
— |
—% |
3.9% |
Activision
Publishing, Inc.(3) |
12,677,398 |
11.5% |
|
— |
—% |
3.0% |
Directors
and Executive Officers: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Andrew
Pascal |
14,809,125(4) |
11.5% |
|
14,524,625(5) |
90.0% |
74.7
%(6) |
Steven
J. Zanella(7) |
— |
—% |
|
— |
—% |
—% |
Joe
Horowitz(8) |
— |
—% |
|
— |
—% |
—% |
Jason
Krikorian(9) |
— |
—% |
|
— |
—% |
—% |
Judy
K. Mencher |
567,099(10) |
* |
|
— |
—% |
* |
James
Murren |
1,009,419(11) |
—% |
|
— |
—% |
—% |
Scott
Peterson |
569,380(12) |
* |
|
— |
—% |
* |
Joel
Agena |
319,448(13) |
* |
|
— |
—% |
—% |
All
directors and executive
officers as a group (8
individuals) |
17,274,471(14) |
13.7% |
|
14,524,625(5) |
90.0% |
75.2% |
|
** |
Percentage
of total voting power represents voting power with respect to all
shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, as a
single class. Each share of Class B common stock is entitled to 20
votes per share and each share of Class A common stock is entitled
to one vote per share. |
 |
19 |
|
(1) |
Unless
otherwise noted, the business address of each of those listed in
the table above is 10150 Covington Cross Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada
89144. |
|
(2) |
The
address of MGM Resorts International is 3600 Las Vegas Boulevard
South, Las Vegas, Nevada 89109. |
|
(3) |
The
address of Activision Publishing, Inc. is 3100 Ocean Park
Boulevard, Santa Monica, California 90405. |
|
(4) |
Consists
of (i) 9,419,827 shares of Class B common stock held of record by
DreamStreet Holdings, LLC, (ii) 2,913,005 shares of Class B common
stock held of record by the Pascal Family Trust, (iii) 2,191,793
shares of Class B common stock underlying options, and (iv) 284,500
shares of Class A common stock held of record by the Pascal Family
Trust. Mr. Pascal is the manager of DreamStreet Holdings, LLC and
the trustee of the Pascal Family Trust. |
|
(5) |
Consists
of (i) 9,419,827 shares of Class B common stock held of record by
DreamStreet Holdings, LLC, (ii) 2,913,005 shares of Class B common
stock held of record by the Pascal Family Trust and (iii) 2,191,793
shares of Class B common stock underlying options. Mr. Pascal is
the manager of DreamStreet Holdings, LLC and the trustee of the
Pascal Family Trust. |
|
(6) |
Includes
3,797,468 shares of Class B common stock held by PGP 2021
Irrevocable Trust and SJP 2021 Irrevocable Trust (collectively, the
“Irrevocable Trusts”). The Irrevocable Trusts entered into
irrevocable proxies and granted power of attorney to Mr. Pascal to
vote the shares of Class B common stock held by the Irrevocable
Trusts. |
|
(7) |
Does
not include 16,647,124 shares of Class A common stock beneficially
owned by MGM Resorts International, as to which Mr. Zanella
disclaims beneficial ownership. |
|
(8) |
Does
not include 4,794,359 shares of Class A common stock held by Icon
Ventures IV, L.P., as to which Mr. Horowitz disclaims beneficial
ownership except to the extent of his pecuniary interests in such
shares. |
|
(9) |
Does
not include 3,400,018 shares of Class A common stock held by
A-Fund, L.P., as to which Mr. Krikorian disclaims beneficial
ownership except to the extent of his pecuniary interests in such
shares. |
|
(10) |
Consists
of shares of Class A common stock held of record by The Judy K.
Mencher Trust 2014. |
|
(11) |
Consists
of shares of Class A common stock held of record by J&H
Investments, LLC. J&H Investments, LLC is co-owned 50/50 by The
JM 2021 Irrevocable Trust and The HM 2021 Irrevocable Trust. Jim
Murren is the trustee of The JM 2021 Irrevocable Trust and Heather
Murren is the trustee of The HM 2021 Irrevocable Trust. Jim Murren
and Heather Murren share voting and dispositive power with respect
to the securities held by J&H Investments, LLC. Includes
238,362 shares of Class A common stock that are unvested and
subject to forfeiture if certain vesting conditions are not
satisfied. The 238,362 shares of Class A common stock subject to
forfeiture do not have any voting rights. The 238,362 shares of
Class A common stock will vest in two equal tranches if the closing
price of the Class A common stock exceeds $12.50 and $15.00 per
share, respectively, for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading
day period commencing on October 27, 2021 and ending on June 21,
2026 (the shares will also vest based on the price targets in
connection with a sale of the Company). If the vesting conditions
are not met on before June 21, 2026 (subject to extension if a
definitive agreement for a sale of the Company has been entered
into prior to June 21, 2026), the shares not then-vested will be
forfeited for no consideration. |
|
(12) |
Consists of (i) 300,428 shares of
Class A common stock held of record by the Scott E. Peterson Trust,
(ii) 118,952 shares of Class A common stock underlying options, and
(iii) 150,000 shares of Class A common stock underlying restricted
stock units that vest on May 15, 2022. Mr. Peterson is the trustee
of the Scott E. Peterson Trust.
|
|
(13) |
Consists of (i) 219,448 shares of
Class A common stock underlying options, and (ii) 100,000 shares of
Class A common stock underlying restricted stock units that vest on
May 15, 2022.
|
|
(14) |
Consists
of (i) 12,332,832 shares of Class B common stock that may be
converted into shares of Class A common stock at any time at the
election of the holder thereof, (ii) 2,367,307 shares of Class A
common stock, (iii) 329,661 shares of Class A common stock
underlying options, and (iv) 2,191,793 shares of Class B common
stock underlying options. |
 |
20 |
PROHIBITION ON
HEDGING
Directors,
officers, and employees are prohibited from engaging in any
derivative transactions (including transactions involving options,
puts, calls, prepaid variable forward contracts, equity swaps,
collars and exchange funds or other derivatives) that are designed
to hedge or speculate on any change in the market value of the
Company’s equity securities. Directors, officers, and employees are
also prohibited from shorting the Company’s stock. Hedging
transactions may permit a director, officer, or employee to
continue to own our securities obtained through employee benefit
plans or otherwise, but without the full risks and rewards of
ownership. When that occurs, the director, officer, or employee may
no longer have the same objectives as our other
stockholders.
POLICY ON STOCK
PLEDGING
Our
Insider Trading Policy prohibits pledges of our securities by
employees, officers, and directors in any circumstance, including
by purchasing Company securities on margin or holding Company
securities in a margin account.
 |
21 |
SECTION 16(A) BENEFICIAL
OWNERSHIP
REPORTING
COMPLIANCE
Section
16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our directors and executive
officers and persons who own more than 10% of a registered class of
our equity securities to file reports of beneficial ownership and
changes in beneficial ownership with the SEC. A Form 3 was not
timely filed with the SEC reporting the beneficial ownership of
Judy K. Mencher within 10 days of June 21, 2021, the date Ms.
Mencher was elected to the Board of Directors, however, a Form 3
corresponding to such reporting event was subsequently filed with
the SEC on September 30, 2021. A Form 4 was not timely filed with
the SEC reporting the distribution of private placement warrants by
Acies Acquisition, LLC (the “Sponsor”) to the Murren Family Trust;
however, a Form 4 corresponding to such reporting event was
subsequently filed with the SEC on August 25, 2021. A Form 3 was
not timely filed with the SEC reporting the beneficial ownership of
Steven J. Zanella within 10 days of December 21, 2021; the date Mr.
Zanella was elected to the Board of Directors; however, a Form 3
corresponding to such reporting event was subsequently filed with
the SEC on January 13, 2022.
To our
knowledge, based upon our review of reports filed with the SEC and
written representations that no other reports were required, we
believe that, during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, there
were no other failures to timely file reports by persons required
to file reports under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act.
 |
22 |
EXECUTIVE
COMPENSATION
This
section provides an overview of our executive compensation
programs, including a narrative description of the material factors
necessary to understand the information disclosed in the summary
compensation table below.
For
the years ended December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, our named
executive officers (“Named Executive Officers” or “NEOs”)
were:
|
● |
Andrew
Pascal, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; |
|
● |
Scott
Peterson, Chief Financial Officer; and |
|
● |
Joel
Agena, General Counsel and Secretary. |
The
objective of our compensation program is to provide a total
compensation package to each NEO to enable us to attract, motivate
and retain outstanding individuals, align the interests of our
executive team with those of our equity holders, encourage
individual and collective contributions to the successful execution
of our short- and long-term business strategies and reward NEOs for
performance. The board of directors of Old PLAYSTUDIOS has
historically determined the compensation for the NEOs, with the CEO
providing his recommendation regarding the compensation for the
NEOs.
For
the years ended December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the
compensation program for the NEOs consisted of base salary and
incentive compensation delivered in the form of an annual cash
bonus, each as described below:
|
● |
Base Salary. Base salary is paid to attract and retain
qualified talent and is set at a level that is commensurate with
the NEO’s duties and authorities, contributions, prior experience,
and sustained performance. |
|
● |
Annual Cash Bonus. Annual cash bonuses are paid to
incentivize the NEOs to achieve our annual financial and operating
performance metrics goals and are paid at the discretion of the
Board of Directors. |
SUMMARY COMPENSATION
TABLE
The
following table shows information regarding outstanding equity
awards held by the NEOs as of December 31, 2021.
NAME
AND |
|
|
|
ALL
OTHER |
|
PRINCIPAL
POSITION |
YEAR |
SALARY
($) |
BONUS
($) |
COMPENSATION(1)
($) |
TOTAL
($) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Andrew
Pascal,
Chairman
and CEO |
2021 |
500,000 |
— |
1,500,000 |
2,000,000 |
|
2020 |
500,000 |
225,000 |
4,516 |
729,516 |
Scott
Peterson, CFO |
2021 |
250,000 |
25,000(2) |
801,800 |
1,076,800 |
|
2020 |
250,000 |
35,000 |
31,118 |
316,118 |
Joel
Agena, General
Counsel
and Secretary |
2021 |
225,000 |
25,000(2) |
600,000 |
850,000 |
|
2020 |
224,327 |
15,000 |
661 |
239,988 |
|
(1) |
Messrs.
Pascal, Peterson, and Agena received $1,500,000, $800,000, and
$600,000 of transaction-related compensation, respectively, as a
result of the Business Combination with Acies. Mr. Pascal was
entitled to receive up to $2,500,000 per the Merger
Agreement. |
 |
23 |
OUTSTANDING EQUITY AWARDS
AT FISCAL YEAR-END
The
following table shows information regarding outstanding equity
awards held by the NEOs as of December 31, 2021.
|
OPTIONS
AWARDS (1) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Number
of |
|
|
|
|
Market |
|
|
Securities |
Number
of |
|
|
Number |
Value |
|
|
Underlying |
Securities |
|
|
of
RSUs |
of
RSUs |
|
|
Unexercised |
Underlying |
OPTION |
OPTION |
That
Have |
That
Have |
|
GRANT |
Options
(#) |
Unexercised |
EXERCISE |
EXPIRATION |
Not
Vested |
Not
Vested |
NAME |
DATE |
Exercisable |
Options
(#) |
PRICE
($) |
DATE |
(#) |
($) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Andrew
Pascal |
10/4/12 |
327,469 |
– |
0.14 |
10/4/2022 |
– |
– |
|
4/17/17 |
1,864,324 |
– |
1.01 |
4/17/2027 |
– |
– |
Scott
Peterson |
6/29/17(2) |
67,974 |
– |
1.01 |
4/1/2027 |
– |
– |
|
2/28/19(3) |
36,413 |
31,558 |
1.44 |
1/1/2029 |
– |
– |
Joel
Agena |
12/22/15(4) |
46,609 |
– |
0.90 |
9/1/2025 |
– |
– |
|
6/29/17(5) |
93,217 |
– |
1.01 |
5/1/2027 |
– |
– |
|
2/28/19(3) |
67,970 |
25,247 |
1.44 |
1/1/2029 |
– |
– |
|
(1) |
The
stock option awards were granted pursuant to Old PLAYSTUDIOS’ 2011
Omnibus Stock and Incentive Plan, as assumed by us on June 21, 2021
in connection with the Business Combination (the “Old PLAYSTUDIOS
Option Plan”) and, except for Mr. Agena’s 2015 stock option grant,
time-vest as follows: 25% on the first anniversary of the vesting
commencement date, and 1/48 on a monthly basis
thereafter. |
|
(2) |
The
vesting commencement date is 4/1/17. Such shares were fully vested
as of 4/1/21. |
|
(3) |
The
vesting commencement date is 1/1/19. |
|
(4) |
27/48
of the option vested on the Grant Date and the remainder time-vests
1/48 on a monthly basis thereafter. Such shares were fully vested
as of 9/1/17. |
|
(5) |
The
vesting commencement date is 5/1/17. Such shares were fully vested
as of 5/1/21. |
EMPLOYMENT
AGREEMENTS
None
of the NEOs have employment agreements with us with the exception
of offer letters providing for at-will employment (and, in Mr.
Agena’s case, eligibility to receive reimbursement of up to $1,000
per month for costs associated with office space and the severance
protection described below under “Potential Payments Upon
Termination or Change in Control”).
 |
24 |
POTENTIAL PAYMENTS UPON
TERMINATION OR CHANGE IN CONTROL
Pursuant
to the stock option award agreements with Messrs. Pascal, Peterson,
and Agena under the Old PLAYSTUDIOS Option Plan, 50% of the stock
options granted to them (or 100% of the then unvested stock options
if more than 50% of the award is already vested) vest and become
exercisable upon either (i) a “change in control” (as defined in
the Old PLAYSTUDIOS Option Plan), (ii) an “involuntary termination”
(as defined in the stock option award agreements) or (iii) for Mr.
Pascal, his involuntary removal from the Board of
Directors.
In
addition, Mr. Agena is entitled to severance in an amount equal to
six months of his then-current base salary in the event of his
termination by the Company without “cause” (as defined in his offer
letter).
 |
25 |
EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN
INFORMATION
The
following table provides certain information with respect to all of
our equity compensation plans in effect as of December 31, 2021 (in
thousands, except price).
PLAN
CATEGORY
|
|
NUMBER OF
SECURITIES TO
BE ISSUED UPON
EXERCISE OF
OUTSTANDING
OPTIONS AND RIGHTS
|
|
WEIGHTED-
AVERAGE
EXERCISE PRICE
OF OUTSTANDING
OPTIONS AND
RIGHTS(1)
|
|
NUMBER OF SECURITIES
REMAINING AVAILABLE
FOR FUTURE ISSUANCE UNDER
EQUITY COMPENSATION PLANS
(EXCLUDING SECURITIES
REFLECTED IN COLUMN (A))
|
|
|
(a) |
|
(b) |
|
(c) |
Equity
compensation plans approved by security holders(2) |
|
14,749(3) |
|
$0.85 |
|
20,444(4)(5) |
Equity
compensation plans not approved by security holders |
|
– |
|
– |
|
– |
Total |
|
14,749 |
|
|
|
20,444 |
PLAN
CATEGORY
|
(1) |
The
weighted average exercise price is calculated based solely on
outstanding stock options. |
|
(2) |
Consists
of the PLAYSTUDIOS, Inc. 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2021
Plan”) and the PLAYSTUDIOS, Inc. 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan
(the “2021 ESPP”). |
|
(3) |
Consists
of 14.7 million shares of common stock underlying outstanding stock
options previously granted under the Old PLAYSTUDIOS Option Plan.
No additional awards may be granted under the Old PLAYSTUDIOS
Option Plan. |
|
(4) |
Consists
of 17.1 million shares of common stock remaining available for
issuance under the 2021 Plan and 3.3 million shares of common stock
remaining available for issuance under the 2021 ESPP. |
|
(5) |
The
number of shares of common stock reserved for issuance under the
2021 Plan automatically increases on January 1 of each year in an
amount equal to (i) 5% of the total number of shares of common
stock outstanding on December 31 of the preceding year, or (ii) a
lesser number of shares of common stock determined by the Board of
Directors prior to the date of the increase. The number of shares
of common stock reserved for issuance under the 2021 ESPP
automatically increases on January 1 of each year in an amount
equal to (i) 1% of the total number of shares of common stock
outstanding on December 31 of the preceding year, or (ii) a lesser
number of shares of common stock determined by the Board of
Directors prior to the date of the increase. |
|
26 |
CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND
RELATED-PARTY
AND
OTHER TRANSACTIONS
SPONSOR
SHARES
On
September 15, 2020, the Sponsor purchased 8,625,000 shares of Acies
Class A ordinary shares which converted into our Class A common
stock upon the closing of the Business Combination (the “Sponsor
Shares”) for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or
approximately $0.003 per share. On October 20, 2020, the Sponsor
cancelled an aggregate of 2,875,000 Sponsor Shares, and on November
9, 2020, forfeited an additional 368,750 Sponsor Shares as a result
of the underwriters’ election to partially exercise their
over-allotment option in connection with Acies’ initial public
offering (“Acies IPO”). On June 21, 2021, the Sponsor forfeited an
additional 1,657,188 Sponsor Shares in connection with the Business
Combination such that an aggregate of 3,724,062 Sponsor Shares are
issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2021.
The
Sponsor is controlled by Daniel Fetters and Edward King as managing
members, and one of our directors, James Murren is affiliated with
the Sponsor. Additionally, Mr. Pascal, prior to the Closing of the
Business Combination, beneficially owned a 9.8% interest in the
Sponsor. Mr. Pascal forfeited his interests in the Sponsor and all
of the associated Acies Class B ordinary shares and Acies private
placement warrants, in connection with the Closing of the Business
Combination.
PRIVATE
PLACEMENT WARRANTS
Simultaneously
with the consummation of the Acies IPO, the Sponsor purchased
4,333,333 private placement warrants at a price of $1.50 per
warrant, or $6,500,000 in the aggregate, in a private placement.
Each private placement warrant entitled the holder to purchase one
Acies Class A ordinary share for $11.50 per share. Additionally, on
November 9, 2020, the Sponsor purchased an additional 203,334
private placement warrants, for total gross proceeds to Acies of
$305,000. The private placement warrants may not be redeemed by us
so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted
transferees. If the private placement warrants are held by holders
other than the Sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private
placement warrants are redeemable by us and exercisable by the
holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units
that were sold as part of the Acies IPO. The Sponsor, or its
permitted transferees, has the option to exercise the private
placement warrants on a cashless basis.
The
private placement warrants are identical to the warrants included
in the units sold in the Acies IPO except that the private
placement warrants: (i) are not redeemable by us, (ii) may be
exercised for cash or on a cashless basis so long as they are held
by the Sponsor or any of its permitted transferees and (iii) are
entitled to registration rights (including the Class A common stock
issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants).
Additionally, the purchasers agreed not to transfer, assign or sell
any of the private placement warrants, including the Acies Class A
ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement
warrants (except to certain permitted transferees), until 30 days
after Closing of the Business Combination.
In
connection with the Business Combination, 715,000 of the private
placement warrants were forfeited for no consideration. The
remaining private placement warrants converted, on a one-for-one
basis into warrants to acquire one share of Class A common stock
pursuant to the Warrant Agreement.
In
addition, in connection with the Acies IPO and the partial exercise
of the over- allotment option, Mr. Pascal became the beneficial
holder of 522,843 Acies Class B ordinary shares and 449,129 Acies
private placement warrants through his ownership of interests in
the Sponsor. Mr. Pascal forfeited his interests in the Sponsor and
all of the associated Acies Class B ordinary shares and Acies
private placement warrants at the Closing of the Business
Combination.
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27 |
REGISTRATION
RIGHTS
The
holders of the Sponsor Shares and private placement warrants (and
any Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of the Sponsor
Shares and upon the exercise of the private placement warrants) are
entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights
agreement signed October 22, 2020, as amended and restated on June
21, 2021, requiring us to register such securities for resale. The
holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three
demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company register
such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back”
registration rights and rights to require us to register for resale
such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. We
will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of
any such registration statements.
TRANSACTION
WITH CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
In
connection with the Business Combination and Merger Agreement,
Andrew Pascal, Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer and a member of
the Board of Directors received shares of our Class B common stock.
Shares of our Class B common stock are entitled to twenty votes per
share. As a result, as of December 31, 2021, Mr. Pascal
owned approximately 9.8% of our outstanding and issued capital
stock and had approximately 74.6% of the combined voting power of
our outstanding capital stock.
MGM
MARKETING AGREEMENT, LETTER OF COMMITMENT,
PROFIT
SHARE BUYOUT AND PIPE PLACEMENT
We are
party to a joint marketing agreement with MGM Resorts International
(“MGM”) (as amended, the “MGM Marketing Agreement”). MGM is a
stockholder and MGM’s Chief Commercial Officer also serves on the
Board of Directors. As consideration for the use of MGM’s
intellectual property in certain of our social casino games, we
issued 19,200,000 shares of our common stock representing 10% of
our then outstanding common stock, and in lieu of royalty payments,
we agreed to pay MGM a profit share of up to a mid- to high-single
digit percentage of cumulative net operating income, as defined in
the MGM Marketing Agreement.
In
October 2020, Old PLAYSTUDIOS and MGM agreed to amend the MGM
Marketing Agreement to terminate the profit share provision (the
“MGM Amendment”).Contemporaneously with the MGM Amendment, MGM
delivered to us a Letter of Commitment pursuant to which it
committed to participate in the PIPE Financing or other
private placement of shares of our common stock for a minimum
of $20.0 million. MGM applied the amount we were obligated to pay
MGM under the MGM Amendment to satisfy its commitment, as permitted
under the MGM Amendment. In exchange, we agreed to remit to MGM a
one-time payment of $20.0 million, payable on the earliest to occur
of (i) the PIPE Financing, (ii) the date that we waived MGM’s
commitment to participate in the PIPE Financing, or (iii) two years
from the date of the MGM Amendment. As of June 21, 2021, we
satisfied all obligations related to the MGM profit share buyout as
described below.
In
connection with the execution of the Merger Agreement, Acies
entered into Subscription Agreements, each dated as of February 1,
2021, with the Subscribers (as defined in the Subscription
Agreements), pursuant to which the Subscribers agreed to purchase,
and Acies agreed to sell the Subscribers, an aggregate of
25,000,000 Acies Class A Ordinary Shares (the “PIPE Shares”), for a
purchase price of $10.00 per share and an aggregate purchase price
of $250.0 million (the “PIPE Placement”).
At the
Closing of the Business Combination, we satisfied all obligations
related to the MGM profit share buyout through the issuance of
2,000,000 shares of our Class A common stock to MGM in the PIPE
Placement.
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28 |
KING
AGREEMENT
In
April 2017, Old PLAYSTUDIOS entered into a game publishing and
distribution agreement (the “King Agreement”) with King.com Limited
and King.com (US), LLC (collectively, “King”) to develop a branded
mobile application with games incorporating their branded
intellectual property. King is a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard,
Inc (“Activision”). Activision was a stockholder and an Activision
senior executive served on the board of directors of Old
PLAYSTUDIOS. King was responsible for $1.3 million and $7.3 million
in revenue for Old PLAYSTUDIOS in 2018 and 2019, respectively. In
June 2019, the King Agreement terminated, and all of the associated
deferred revenue was recorded as revenue for Old PLAYSTUDIOS during
2019. As of December 31, 2021, Activision owned 12,677,398 shares
of our Class A common stock.
ANDREW
PASCAL — FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
Andrew
Pascal’s brother, David Pascal, has served as our director of
marketing since June 21, 2021 and previously served as the director
of marketing of Old PLAYSTUDIOS since October 2012. David Pascal
received approximately $0.3 million in salary, bonus, and benefits
in 2021 and $0.2 million in salary, bonus, and benefits in each of
2020 and 2019. These amounts include the fair value of 18,644
options and 233 options that were granted to David Pascal under the
Old PLAYSTUDIOS Option Plan in 2018 and 2020,
respectively.
INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENTS
WITH OUR DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
The
Certificate of Incorporation provides that we will indemnify our
directors to the fullest extent authorized or permitted by
applicable law. We have entered into agreements to indemnify our
directors, executive officers, and other employees. Under the
Bylaws, we are required to indemnify each of our directors and
officers if the basis of the indemnitee’s involvement was by reason
of the fact that the indemnitee is or was a director or officer of
the Company or was serving at our request as a director, officer,
employee, or agent for another entity. We must indemnify our
officers and directors against all expenses, judgments, fines, and
amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the
indemnitee in connection with such action, suit, or proceeding if
the indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner the indemnitee
reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests
of the Company, and, with respect to any criminal action or
proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the indemnitee’s
conduct was unlawful. The Certificate of Incorporation also
requires us to advance expenses incurred by a director or officer
in connection with such action, suit or proceeding to the maximum
extent permitted under Delaware law. Any claims for indemnification
by our directors and officers may reduce our available funds to
satisfy successful third-party claims against us and may reduce the
amount of money available to us.
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29 |
AUDIT COMMITTEE
REPORT
With
respect to PLAYSTUDIOS’ financial reporting process, the management
of PLAYSTUDIOS is responsible for establishing and maintaining
internal controls and preparing PLAYSTUDIOS’ consolidated financial
statements. PLAYSTUDIOS’ independent registered public accounting
firm, Deloitte & Touche LLP (“Deloitte”), is responsible for
auditing these financial statements. It is the responsibility of
the Audit Committee to oversee these activities. The Audit
Committee does not itself prepare financial statements or perform
audits, and its members are not auditors or certifiers of
PLAYSTUDIOS’ financial statements. We have relied, without
independent verification, on management’s representation that the
financial statements have been prepared with integrity and
objectivity and in conformity with US GAAP and on the
representations of Deloitte included in its audit of PLAYSTUDIOS’
consolidated financial statements.
We
have reviewed and discussed the audited consolidated financial
statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 with
PLAYSTUDIOS’ management and with Deloitte, including the results of
the independent registered public accounting firm’s audit of
PLAYSTUDIOS’ financial statements. We have also discussed with
Deloitte all matters required to be discussed by the SEC and the
Standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
(“PCAOB”) for communication with audit committees, under which
Deloitte must provide us with additional information regarding the
scope and results of its audit of PLAYSTUDIOS’ consolidated
financial statements.
We
have also received and reviewed the written disclosures and the
letter from Deloitte required by applicable requirements of the
PCAOB regarding Deloitte’s communications with the Audit Committee
concerning independence, and have discussed with Deloitte its
independence from PLAYSTUDIOS, as well as any relationships that
may impact Deloitte’s objectivity and independence.
Based
on our review of the matters noted above and our discussions with
PLAYSTUDIOS’ management and independent registered public
accounting firm, we recommended to the Board of Directors that the
audited consolidated financial statements be included in
PLAYSTUDIOS’ Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2021, for filing with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
|
James Murren
(Chair)
Judy K.
Mencher
Jason
Krikorian
|
The
foregoing Audit Committee Report shall not be deemed “filed” with
the SEC and is not to be incorporated by reference into any filing
of PLAYSTUDIOS, Inc. under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act,
whether made before or after the date hereof and irrespective of
any general incorporation language in any such
filing.
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30 |
PROPOSAL NO.
2
RATIFICATION
OF APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING
FIRM
The
Audit Committee of our Board of Directors has appointed Deloitte
& Touche LLP (“Deloitte”) as our independent registered public
accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. We
are asking our stockholders to ratify the selection of Deloitte as
our independent registered public accounting firm. Although
ratification is not required by our Bylaws or otherwise, we are
submitting the appointment of Deloitte to our stockholders for
ratification as a matter of good corporate practice and because we
value our stockholders’ views on our independent registered public
accounting firm. In the event that our stockholders fail to ratify
the appointment, the Audit Committee will review its future
selection of independent auditors. Even if our stockholders ratify
the appointment, our Audit Committee, in its discretion, may
appoint another independent registered public accounting firm at
any time during the year if the Audit Committee believes that such
a change would be in the best interest of PLAYSTUDIOS and our
stockholders. Representatives of Deloitte are expected to be
present at the Annual Meeting, and they will have the opportunity
to make a statement if they so desire and to respond to appropriate
questions.
The
following table presents fees for professional services rendered by
Deloitte for the years ended December 31, 2021 and December 31,
2020 (in thousands):
|
|
2021 |
|
2020 |
Audit Fees(1) |
|
$1,365 |
|
$342 |
Audit-Related
Fees(2) |
|
— |
|
— |
Tax
Fees(3) |
|
1,190 |
|
1,181 |
All
Other Fees(4) |
|
490 |
|
40 |
Total |
|
$3,045 |
|
$1,563 |
|
(1) |
“Audit
Fees” consist of fees billed for professional services rendered for
the audit of our consolidated financial statements and services
that are normally provided by Deloitte in connection with
regulatory filings. The aggregate fees billed by Deloitte in 2021
include audit services related to the Business
Combination. |
|
(2) |
“Audit-Related
Fees” consist of fees billed for assurance and related services
that are reasonably related to performance of the audit or review
of our year-end consolidated financial statements and are not
reported under “Audit Fees.” These services include attest services
that are not required by statute or regulation and consultation
concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. We did not
pay Deloitte for Audit-Related Fees for the years ended December
31, 2021 and 2020. |
|
(3) |
“Tax
Fees” consist of fees billed for professional services relating to
tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice. |
|
(4) |
“All
Other Fees” consist of consulting services for purposes of
providing advice and recommendations. |
|
31 |
PRE-APPROVAL POLICIES AND
PROCEDURES
The
Audit Committee has sole authority to engage and determine the
compensation of our independent registered public accounting firm.
The Audit Committee also is directly responsible for evaluating the
independent registered public accounting firm, reviewing and
evaluating the lead partner of the independent registered public
accounting firm, and overseeing the work of the independent
registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee annually
pre-approves audit services to be provided by Deloitte, and also
considers and is required to pre-approve the engagement of Deloitte
for the provision of other services during the year. For each
proposed service, the independent registered public accounting firm
is required to provide detailed supporting documentation at the
time of approval to permit the Audit Committee to make a
determination as to whether the provision of such services would
impair the independent registered public accounting firm’s
independence, and whether the fees for the services are
appropriate. All services provided by Deloitte in the fiscal year
ended December 31, 2021 were approved by the Audit Committee in
accordance with the pre-approval policies and
procedures.
The Audit
Committee and the Board of Directors recommend a vote FOR
ratification of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the
independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year
ending December 31, 2022.
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32 |
AVAILABILITY OF ANNUAL
REPORT ON FORM 10-K
Stockholders
can access our 2021 Annual Report, which includes our Annual Report
on Form 10-K, and other financial information, on our website at
ir.playstudios.com under the caption “Latest Financial Results.”
Alternatively, stockholders can request a paper copy of the Annual
Report by writing to: PLAYSTUDIOS, Inc., 10150 Covington
Cross Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89144, Attention: Corporate
Secretary.
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33 |
OTHER
BUSINESS
Our
Board does not know of any other matters to be presented at the
Annual Meeting. If any additional matters are properly presented at
the Annual Meeting, the persons named in the proxy card will have
discretion to vote the shares represented by proxy in accordance
with their own judgment on such matters.
It is
important that your shares be represented at the Annual Meeting,
regardless of the number of shares that you hold. We urge you to
vote by telephone, by Internet, or by executing and returning the
proxy card at your earliest convenience.
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34 |


