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 Bang & Olufsen entering esports, NEO partnering with Nike, Guild’s IPO, DreamHack and ESL’s merger, Fnatic’s multi-year deal with Hisense, and David Levy investing in Andbox.
Bang & Olufsen enters esports through three-year Astralis Group deal
Danish organisation Astralis Group established a three-year partnership with Danish audio brand Bang & Olufsen.
The deal covers leisure, work-out, and travel, but not in-game use. The partnership is also aimed at the international market.
NEO adds Nike and Outfitter as apparel partners
NEO, an esports organisation currently competing in EA Sports’ FIFA series, announced the addition of Outfitter and Nike as collaborative apparel partners.
Outfitter, a German football and sports apparel retailer, will be the “lead implementer for the individualisation and refinement of NEO’s teamwear,” according to a release.
Guild Esports raises £20M ahead of London Stock Exchange listing
UK-based organisation Guild Esports raised £20 million ahead of its IPO on the London Stock Exchange, according to a release.
The organisation said that its oversubscribed offering of 250 million shares was priced at £0.08. Following the IPO, Beckham will maintain a 4.78 percent stake -which will make him the fourth-largest shareholder in the company. Blue Star Capital and Toro Consulting are also investors.
DreamHack and ESL merge under ESL Gaming
MTG-owned tournament organisers DreamHack and ESL merged organisations under one corporation.
While operations for both companies will now operate under ESL Gaming, DreamHack and ESL will remain as independent brands.
Fnatic enters multi-year partnership with Hisense
London-based organisation Fnatic entered a multi-year partnership with Chinese multinational white goods and electronics manufacturer Hisense.
The deal will see the parties collaborate through content, including product reviews.
David Levy joins Andbox as investor and chairman of advisory board
Former Turner President and former Brooklyn Nets CEO David Levy joined New York organisation Andbox as an investor and Chairman of the company’s advisory board.
Levy’s investment and appointment come as part of Andbox’s Series B funding round which attracted a host notable investors.
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.
