Esports investments, mergers, and acquisitions in October 2019

As the esports industry continues to grow, so does the interest in owning a piece of the pie. Celebrities and venture capitalists are investing millions of pounds, companies are merging together to consolidate, and acquisitions are becoming pretty common, too.

To make things easier, Esports Insider has brought together the major investments, mergers, and acquisitions of October 2019.

Hitmarker launches equity crowdfunding campaign

In October, esports job platform Hitmarker opened up early access to its equity crowdfunding campaign, and now it has fully launched.

The company’s seed investment round has a minimum target of £80,000 in return for 4 percent of equity, with a maximum target sitting at £200,000 in exchange for 10 percent of equity. In its early access phase, Hitmarker raised over £32,000.

Read the full article here.

MLG co-founders launch esports infrastructure platform Vindex

MLG co-founders Mike Sepso and Sundance DiGiovanni launched esports infrastructure platform Vindex with $60 million (£46.6 million) in funding following its Series A round.

The platform is said to provide “technology and services that power the richest experiences in esports” by helping “publishers, esports leagues and teams,” according to a release. It has acquired Next Generation Esports and launched Adam Apicella’s Esports Engine.

We also interviewed DiGiovanni about the company’s inception, its role in esports, and its future ambitions.

Read the full article here.

ReKTGlobal announces Rudy Gobert as investor

ReKTGlobal, the parent company of North American organisation Rogue and the London Royal Ravens, announced French basketball player Rudy Gobert as its latest investor.

The Utah Jazz basketballer will “support the growth and continued global expansion of ReKTGlobal and Rogue” through co-hosted live streams, content, and partnerships.

Read the full article here.

Pittsburgh Knights receives investment from Evgeni Malkin

North American organisation Pittsburgh Knights announced investment from NHL player Evgeni Malkin.

The Russian hockey player, who competes for the Pittsburgh Penguins, invested an undisclosed amount into the organisation.

Read the full article here.

Nerd Street Gamers announces $12M Series A funding

Philadelphia-based Nerd Street Gamers announced $12 million (£9.8 million) in funding through its Series A round.

Retail chain Five Below led the round and will build 3,000 square foot Localhost facilities connected to its stores, beginning in 2020. Five Below was joined by existing investors Comcast, SeventySix Capital, Elevate Capital, and George Miller in the round.

Read the full article here.

Victory Five raises over £11M in Series A round

Chinese organisation Victory Five closed its Series A round, raising over 100M RMB (£11 million).

At the press conference, the organisation explained that it is aiming to enhance how competitive it is and continue its business expansion, with the aim of becoming the top esports club based in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Read the full article here.

Bjergsen becomes part-owner of TSM

League of Legends professional Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg acquired a stake in TSM as part of renewing his LCS contract with the organisation.

The new deal extends Bjergsen’s tenure with TSM through to 2021, having joined the organisation in November 2013 after Andy “Reginaldn” Dinh stepped away from playing for the team. Bjergsen stands as the longest-serving player for the organisation and has become synonymous with the TSM brand.

Read the full article here.

META Games closes $2 million seed round

Mobile game developer META Games announced that it had raised $2 million (£1.6 million) in its seed funding round.

The round was led by BITKRAFT Esports Ventures, with participation from Everblue Management, Crest Capital, and Klaas Kersting, among others. The funding will be used to complete game development on its MOBA esports title, RIVALS Esports Manager.

Read the full article here.

Esport-Management rebrands to nicecactus.gg, launches esports fund

Team management platform Esport-Management rebranded to nicecactus.gg following the closure of its Series A round.

Raising €5 million (£4.3 million) from private investors, the company also launched its Nicecactus Grassroots Esports Fund. The €1 million (£861,270) fund has been launched to help amateur and semi-professional players to get further in the scene.

Read the full article here.

ReKTGlobal acquires Fullcube following Rogue Nation partnership

ReKTGlobal acquired North Carolina-based Fullcube, a direct-to-consumer fan engagement platform.

ReKTGlobal’s Rogue Nation, the official subscription-based fan club for its Rogue organisation, was launched in partnership with Fullcube in July. This acquisition suggests that Fullcube will focus more on esports moving forward.

Read the full article here.

Torque Esports enters letter of intent to acquire UMG Media

Torque Esports Corp., formerly known as Millenial Esports Corp., is set to acquire esports tournament and content creation company UMG Media.

The two companies entered a letter of intent that will see them create a single entity that operates in sim racing, first-person shooters, and sports titles. UMG’s broadcast capabilities will be used to enhance content that is currently produced by Torque.

Read the full article here.

Tencent acquires majority stake in developer Supercell

Chinese technology conglomerate Tencent took a majority stake of Supercell, the developer of Clash of Clans and Clash Royale.

Tencent previously held a 50 percent stake in the company but moved to acquire another 1.2 percent, giving it the majority stake. The new shares cost the tech giant $40 million (£30.8 million).

Read the full article here.

New Wave Esports goes public on Canadian Stock Exchange

Esports investment company New Wave Esports began trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) under the stock symbol NWES.

Trading commenced on October 28th, allowing members of the public and investors to own shares in the company. New Wave Esports, Trueclaim Exploration Inc. and Subco (a subsidiary of Trueclaim) merged on June 7th, allowing it to bypass the typically-lengthy procedure of listing itself for public investment.

Read the full article here.

Astralis Group planning to launch IPO in Denmark

Astralis Group announced its intentions to list an initial product offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market.

The listing is scheduled to take place later in 2019, though a specific date hasn’t been disclosed at the time of writing. Details on the prospectus and subscription details will be published at a later date.

Read the full article here.

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