Gfinity acquires CEVO in £2.1m deal

UK esports company Gfinity today announced its $2.7m (2.1m) purchase of the entire issued share capital of CEVO, a USA-based global provider of services and technology to the esports industry.

The acquisition of CEVO includes technologies such as its tournament management system, its anti-cheat software – used by a number of major operators in the industry (including Gfinity) – and a range of esports broadcast products.

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CEVO has been involved with Gfinity in the past, such as for last year’s CEVO Gfinity Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Pro League and Gfinity Elite Series. In fact, CEVO has supplied technology to Gfinity for the last three years. With this acquisition, Gfinity have laid down a marker for their aims to continue to expand on an international scale, having already hosted events this year in the UK, Mexico, France and the USA.

“We are delighted to have acquired one of the most reputable esports technology players in the in the industry, which further strengthens our position as a market leader in esports technology,” said Gfinity CEO Neville Upton in today’s press release.

“CEVO’s combined experience of 50 years in the market supplements our existing team of talented individuals – creating one of the most experienced esports operators in the industry – leaving us well positioned to take advantage of a growing number of esports opportunities in future.”

Eric Ping, CEO of CEVO, described the move as “a great opportunity to create a truly world-class global esports business.”

“Our combined technical capability allows us to provide a truly valuable suite of esports products and solutions which we look forward to presenting to our partners.”

Gfinity’s acquisition of CEVO follows last week’s announcement that it has agreed a deal with broadcaster ELEVEN SPORTS to bring esports action to fans across each of the seven markets it operates in, including “almost 80 million” pay TV households.

Esports insider says: This announcement, along with news of a partnership with Eleven Sports, is a real statement of intent from Gfinity. It will be fascinating to track the London-based company in its pursuit of global expansion.