As the esports industry continues to grow, so does the interest in owning a piece of the pie. Celebrities and venture capitalists are investing millions of pounds, companies are merging together to consolidate, and acquisitions are becoming pretty common, too.
To make things easier, Esports Insider has brought together the major investments, mergers, and acquisitions of May 2020, including $17.4 million (£13.8 million) in disclosed funding.
Amuka Esports announces private placement on DealSquare
Amuka Esports announced the launch of its $500,000 (£406,000) private placement offering on DealSquare, a centralised digital platform to access capital within the private markets.
Amuka Esports, which creates localised esports hubs for casual gamers across North America, has made the offering in its pursuit of “aggressive expansion” throughout the continent.
Read the full article here.
BLAST raises €12.5M in funding round
Danish tournament organiser BLAST completed a funding round, raising a total of €12.5 million (£11.1 million).
The round was led by Johan Gedda, CEO and Co-founder of Rocket Software, and Danish investment fund Vækstfonden. European venture capital firms Creandum, Heartcore, and Maki – existing investors in the company – rounded out the funding with further investment.
Read the full article here.
Vodafone Giants raises €3 million in funding round
Spanish organisation Vodafone Giants closed its latest round of funding, raising €3 million (£2.7 million).
The investment comes solely from Sánchez Cózar Group, founded by José Antonio Sánchez Cózar. Vodafone Giants will use the funds to build its headquarters in its place of origin, Malaga, as well as to continue expanding internationally and “develop new products.”
Read the full article here.
Vodafone Giants acquires fellow Spanish organisation x6tence
Spanish organisation Giants Gaming, known as Vodafone Giants through a naming rights deal, acquired x6tence.
Vodafone Giants will integrate x6tence into its structure, onboarding the organisation’s managers and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster. The acquisition is said to be a “strategic movement that brings together in one company two of the most important emblems in Spain of the esports sector.”
Read the full article here.
T1 Entertainment & Sports invests in esports analytics startup Mobalytics
T1 Entertainment and Sports (T1) made an investment in Mobalytics, an esports analytics startup devised to improve player performance.
The companies initial focus for the partnership is on VALORANT, with Mobalytics’ previous experience in Riot Games’ other titles likely to come in handy.
Read the full article here.
Luckbox looks to go public on TSX Venture Exchange
Esports bookmaker Luckbox unveiled intentions to list itself publicly on the TSX Venture Exchange.
It states an uptick in performance due to COVID-19 as an accelerating factor in the decision. Luckbox has signed a letter of intent with Elephant Hill that would see all of the bookmaker’s issued and outstanding common shares be acquired by the capital pool company.
Read the full article here.
Luckbox scores investment from Inter Miami footballer Luis Robles
Esports bookmaker Luckbox received investment from American football player Luis Robles.
Robles is the goalkeeper for Major League Soccer side Inter Miami, which is co-owned by David Beckham. Financial terms of the investment have not been disclosed at the time of writing.
Read the full article here.
We Are Nations launches Nations Ventures
Esports merchandising company We Are Nations announced the formation of Nations Ventures, an investment vehicle for esports.
Nations Ventures will invest in early-stage companies that don’t compete with the core business of We Are Nations. The venture aims to “provide opportunities for collaboration, product and marketing enhancement and other economies of scale.”
Read the full article here.
Torque Esports, Frankly and WinView merge to create Engine Media
Torque Esports Corp., Frankly Inc., and WinView Inc. completed of a merger, six months after revealing that it was being pursued.
With Frankly and WinView under the ownership of Torque Esports, it will operate as Engine Media moving forward.
Read the full article here.