Each week, ESI Digest breaks down the weekly happenings in the esports industry, making sense of things so you don’t have to. As well as being housed on YouTube, ESI Digest is available on all major podcast platforms and is also available in written form below.
This week on ESI Digest, we cover Guild Esports’ plans for an IPO, Under Armour sponsoring Team SMG, Fnatic replacing Rivalry with Parimatch, and Jackson Wang investing in Victory Five.
Jackson Wang invests in Victory Five
Hong Kong rapper, singer, and dancer Jackson Wang invested in Macao esports organisation, Victory Five.
Victory Five unveiled the partnership with Team Holding, a company owned by Wang, on September 7th during the ceremony. Wang is well-known for being a member of the South Korean boy group Got7, though he’s also an acclaimed solo artist and television host.
Fnatic replaces Rivalry with two-year Parimatch partnership
London-based organisation Fnatic found a new betting sponsor in Cypriot online bookmaker Parimatch.
The organisation was previously in a deal with esports-dedicated bookmaker Rivalry, though that partnership was publicly-announced to have ended on September 4th.
The deal between Fnatic and Parimatch is described as a “two-year global partnership” that will see the bookmaker serve as the official betting partner of the organisation’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team. It will act as a jersey sponsor throughout the two years of the alliance.
Team SMG establishes one-year deal with Under Armour
Singaporean organisation Team SMG announced a one-year partnership with American performance apparel brand Under Armour.
The deal will see all of the players that compete for Team SMG donning branded apparel manufactured by the organisation’s new partner.
Team SMG fields rosters in mobile titles Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and PUBG Mobile, as well as Riot Games’ newly-released VALORANT. Despite being located in different countries – mobile competitors are in Malaysia, whereas the VALORANT roster is in Singapore – all of the players will be kitted out through this deal.
Guild Esports looks to list on London Stock Exchange
London-based organisation Guild Esports unveiled its intentions to launch an IPO on the London Stock Exchange.
The organisation launched on June 25th with former footballer David Beckham as a co-owner. It has tapped Mirabaud Securities and Zeus Capital to serve as joint brokers and bookrunners for the transaction. Should the offering go as intended, in which it would list ordinary shares to the Standard Listing segment of the London Stock Exchange, the organisation will use the funds to expand into new titles and further invest in its brand.
ESI Digest is part of ESI Network, a collection of podcasts encompassing the esports industry. For deep dives into the major areas of esports with subject matter experts, check out ESI Focus. For conversations with key personnel and major stakeholders in esports, ESI Insight is the series for you.
