April is behind us, and that means another edition of the investment report. April showed us that big money can come from the strangest of places, and that the industry continues to spend cash after pandemic restrictions have dropped in most countries.
The highlights of April were two high-profile mergers and investments; the first being ReKT Global and its new owners, and the second being the purchase of FUTBIT by the owners of HLTV, Better Collective.
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Spotlighted Story
ReKTGlobal to be acquired by Metaverse company Infinite Reality
Metaverse entertainment and production company Infinite Reality (iR) has reached an agreement to acquire esports conglomerate ReKTGlobal for $470m (~£360m).
The merger integrates ReKTGlobal’s esports properties into iR, including its esports team franchises, marketing and partnership services, talent management, and technology products.
Better Collective acquires FUTBIN and related domains for €105m
Sports betting media group Better Collective has announced the acquisition of FIFA community platform FUTBIN and its related assets for up to €105m (~£87m).
According to the release, the purchase will be paid in a combination of cash, Better Collective shares and earn-out payments.
Oddin.gg acquires esports marketing agency Thousand Lives
Esports live-odds provider Oddin.gg has announced the acquisition of esports betting marketing agency Thousand Lives.
Following the acquisition, Oddin.gg will absorb Thousand Lives’ esports division and rebrand the new in-house branch to Jotun.gg.
XSET acqui-hires talent agency Astoic Management
North American esports organisation XSET has announced the acqui-hire of talent agency Astoic Management.
As a result of the acquisition, XSET has appointed both Co-founders of Astoic Management to executive roles. Lonnie Anthony will serve as Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) and Rob Martin will serve as Chief Experience Officer (CXO).
GOALS secures $15m in seed funding
GOALS, a new multiplayer football play-to-earn game in development, has secured $15m (£11.42m) in seed funding.
The round was led by venture capital fund Northzone, with previous investors Cherry Ventures, Moonfire Ventures and Banana Capital also taking part in the funding.
BITKRAFT Ventures receives $2.5m investment from Nazara
Gaming and esports venture capital fund BITKRAFT Ventures has received a $2.5m (~£1.9m) investment from India-based gaming and sports media company Nazara.
According to the announcement, Nazara will invest $875,000 (~£666,000) upfront and another $1.6m (£1.2m) over a period of three years. In turn, Nazara plans to ‘leverage the BITKRAFT Ventures network’ for a number of strategic initiatives.
Fortnite training platform NOVOS raises $6m in funding
Fortnite competitive training platform NOVOS has secured $6m (~£4.6m) in funding.
According to Or Briga, NOVOS’ Co-founder and CEO, the funding will be utilised to expand its platform to include other game titles.
Epic Games raises $2bn to grow metaverse efforts
Game developer and publisher Epic Games has announced a $2bn (~£1.5bn) round of financing involving Sony Group Corporation and KIRKBI.
Epic Games said the financial injection will be used to support the company’s growth, and help advance its vision to build the metaverse.
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