MENA esports platform GBarena has acquired Tunisian company Galactech for a total of $15m (~£12.2m).
The deal is set to be completed in the form of a share swap and serves to improve GBarena’s position in North Africa, as well as MENA.
Founded in 2019, Galactech is an entertainment and esports company focusing on tournament organisation and content creation in its home region. The company partnered with the Tunisian Esports Federation in late 2021 to create better tournaments in North Africa and work on improving national esports teams in the region. According to a release, the company currently has more than 200,000 active users.
GBarena, on the other hand, is one of the leading esports platforms in the MENA region. The company specialises in hosting tournaments across a large number of esports games such as CS:GO, PUBG: Battlegrounds, Free Fire, Fortnite and others. The company also has a marketing and advisory segment, specialised in brand promotion through esports. GBarena has worked with the likes of Ubisoft, Activision Blizzard, Logitech, Intel, Oppo and Orange in the past.
The deal is a part of GBarena’s expansion in the Middle East. The company noted in a release that the acquisition strengthens its position in the region and that it will use the presence and capabilities of Galactech in Riyadh, Dubai and Tunisia.
GBarena also noted that the acquisition of Galactech is also a ‘milestone transaction’ for the company and that it expects to close its Series A round later this year.
GBarena CEO Samer Wagdy, commented: “Our goal has always been to provide our users with an unparalleled esports experience, no matter where they’re located in the world.
“With our acquisition of Galactech, we can now ensure that our users from North Africa will have access to identical features and content they have come to expect from us while providing them with extensive opportunities for growth and development within the esports community.”
Wagdy added that GBarena wants to become the ‘leading aggregator’ in the MENA region and serve all stakeholders in the regional esports industry.
