British esports organisation Guild Esports has disclosed in a form filed with the London Stock Exchange that a Dubai-based investor has acquired about 66.7m shares, totalling 8.28% of voting rights shares in the company.
The shares were acquired by Mr. Koshy Vinod. The acquisition makes him the third largest shareholder in Guild Esports, per a list of significant shareholders on Guild’s website.
Guild Esports told Esports Insider in a statement that the shares were offered as part of a Convertible Loan Note Agreement. Guild Esports announced a Convertible Loan Note Agreement with Compassare Holdings, worth £250,000 on a one-year term at an interest rate of 8%, in a release on April 2nd.
On May 13th, Guild noted that Compassare Holdings had exercised its right to convert the loan note into 66.7m new ordinary shares.
Guild Esports said that Vinod is the chairman of Compassare Holdings, which it described in an earlier release as an investment company based in the United Arab Emirates “with holdings across sectors including oil and gas, food and beverages, technology and sustainable solutions.”
No further information was provided in the most recent filing about the investor or the company, aside from that the place of completion of the share acquisition was Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
It is a regulatory requirement to notify the London Stock Exchange when an investor acquires a significant number of voting shares in a listed company. Vinod passed the threshold for notifying the London Stock Exchange on May 8th.
Guild added that it was involved in discussions with Vinod and Compassare Holdings around the convertible loan agreement but did not elaborate, citing its status as a publicly listed company.
The British esports organisation has said in previous releases that expansion into the MENA region is a priority for the company.
In late 2023, Guild raised at least £500,000 from selling 100m shares to gaming brand 00Nation to fuel expansion, particularly focused on MENA. Guild is also one of 30 clubs accepted as part of the Saudi Arabian government-funded Esports World Cup’s Club Support Program.
UPDATE 30/05/2024 3:15pm: After publication of this article, Guild Esports sent a statement to Esports Insider with further information. This article has been updated to include the information provided in the statement.