Esports investments, mergers, and acquisitions in February 2020

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 February 2020.

FaZe Clan receives $22.7 million loan facility

North American organisation FaZe Clan entered into a $22.7 million (£17.4 million) convertible loan facility.

Canaccord Genuity acted as the exclusive financial adviser to the organisation for the deal, which is said to be convertible at a pre-money equity valuation of $220 million (£168.7 million) and will be used as “working capital and general corporate purposes.”

Read the full article here.

NTT Corp raises £2.1M to open esports venue in Japan

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT Corp) announced intentions to launch an esports venue in Japan through four of its subsidiaries.

NTT East Corp, NTT West Corp, NTT Advertising Inc, and NTT Urban Solutions – in collaboration with its partners Sky Perfect JSAT Corp and Taito Corp – raised a total of JPY 300 million (£2.1 million) in funding for the project.

Read the full article here.

Juked raises $800,000 in pre-seed funding round

San Francisco-based esports startup Juked raised $800,000 (£616,960) in a pre-seed funding round.

The funds raised will be used to “accelerate development of its one-stop-destination” goals. The round was led by 500 Startups, an accelerator based in San Francisco.

Read the full article here.

Faker obtains part-ownership of T1 Entertainment & Sports

Professional League of Legends player Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok became a part-owner of T1 Entertainment & Sports.

He also signed a new three-year player contract to continue to compete for T1 in the LCK. When Faker, who’s 23 years of age, decides to retire from playing League of Legends, he will take on a leadership role within the organisation to “help facilitate global operations.”

Read the full article here.

Nicecactus acquires tournament platform Glory4Gamers

Team management platform Nicecactus announced the acquisition of online tournament platform Glory4Gamers.

The acquisition comes following Nicecactus’ €5 million (£4.16 million) funding round that closed towards the end of 2019 and is said to enable Nicecactus’ ability to reach users on an international level, combining the workforce of both companies to reach a 70-person team.

Read the full article here.

Tempo Storm raises $3.3M to enter interactive media and game design

North American organisation Tempo Storm raised $3.3 million (£2.56 million) in its latest funding round as it seeks to launch The Bazaar, its own card game.

The round was led by interactive content and technology investor Galaxy Interactive, a division of publicly-traded digital assets merchant bank Galaxy Digital, via its Galaxy EOS VC Fund.

Read the full article here.

Amuka Esports acquires Canadian esports venue Waves E-Gaming

Amuka Esports acquired Waves E-Gaming, “Canada’s largest esports and gaming venue.”

Amuka Esports, which creates localised esports hubs for casual gamers across North America, has acquired a 100 percent interest in Waves E-Gaming Inc for an undisclosed fee.

Read the full article here.

DBLTAP parent company Minute Media raises $40M

Minute Media, the parent company of esports media publication DBLTAP, closed on a $40 million (£31.1 million) funding round.

The capital will support Minute Media’s global expansion, including potential acquisitions and improvements to its publishing platform. The round was led by European software investor Dawn Capital, and brings Minute Media’s total funding to date to $160 million (£124 million).

Read the full article here.

HLTV.org acquired by Better Collective for €34.5 million

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive publication HLTV.org was acquired by sports betting media group Better Collective.

The acquisition is said to amount to a total of €34.5 million (£29.7 million) on a cash and debt-free basis. It not only includes HLTV.org, the leading publication for CS:GO esports in the industry, but Danish CS:GO community platform dust2.dk also.

Read the full article here.

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