eSports
Better Collective acquires globally leading esports brand Futbin and related domains for up to 105 mEUR and updates its financial guidance
Better Collective, a leading digital sports media group, continues to expand within esports by acquiring Futbin and related domains, constituting world-leading esports media brands within esoccer (FIFA), for a total price of up to 105 mEUR. With the addition of Futbin and related assets, Better Collective’s esports portfolio reaches 100 million monthly visits, and Better Collective further diversifies its income stream as Futbin revenues are mainly ads and subscription sales. In connection with the acquisition, Better Collective updates its financial targets for 2022.
The interest for esports continues to increase as more people interact with communities centred around their favourite esports titles. The acquisition of Futbin and associated domains is an important milestone in Better Collective’s ambition of becoming the leading digital sports media group, adding to the already strong position within esports built on hltv.org, the leading community for CS:GO.
With 50 million monthly visits on its website and 3 million daily active users (DAU) on its proprietary app, Futbin is the world’s leading esports brand related to the FIFA esoccer game. Together with its associated domains, the platforms provide a major player base with important insights into the game of FIFA. The main business model of the platforms is ad sales and more recently, the launch of the Futbin app has driven significant revenue growth with subscription services, which is still in an early stage but with a very promising outlook. The asset acquisition entails a significant revenue diversification for Better Collective as current revenue is not derived from activities related to sports betting, but through ads sales to retail and consumer brands as well as subscription.
During the last 12 months, the platforms generated 13 mEUR in revenues growing with a CAGR of 55% from 2019 to 2021. Better Collective will consolidate the acquired assets into the Better Collective Group accounts as from April 19, 2022. The team behind Futbin will continue to provide assistance to the business to ensure continued strong development of the platform, which will also be subject to investments going forward.
Better Collective expects to create significant synergies across the esports portfolio by developing products and services from a joint infrastructure, making it possible to effectively scale the esports brands to reach a larger audience. Reaching a combined 100 million monthly visits from Futbin, HLTV and other esports assets, Better Collective now holds a leading position in the esports market. Granting a unique access to the esports audience, this is a key segment for retail and consumer brands in their global positioning. The increased scale allows for optimised revenue streams through improved partnerships.
The transaction
The purchase price is agreed at up to 105 mEUR. Out of the total purchase price, 70 mEUR will be paid upfront in cash and shares of Better Collective A/S will be paid at a market value of 5 mEUR . The shares are expected to be transferred from Better Collective’s holding of its own shares. The remaining up to 30 mEUR is structured as a number of separate earn out payments to be paid over the coming two years subject to certain financial performance criteria. Furthermore, the acquisition of assets provides Better Collective with rights to tax-depreciation. Better Collective recently expanded its credit lines with Nordea Bank with an additional 100 mEUR to finance further acquisitions, including the Futbin and associated assets.
Financial targets for 2022
In connection with the acquisition, Better Collective updates its financial targets for the full year 2022 for operational earnings (EBITDA) to approximately 85 mEUR (previous approximately 80 mEUR). The updated financial targets, reflects addition of approximately 8 months of operational income from the acquired assets after inclusion of expected added costs to further develop the business. Other financial targets relating to organic growth and debt leverage remain unchanged at 15-25% for 2022 and <3.0x respectively.
Jesper Søgaard, CEO and co-founder of Better Collective, says:
“Esports is maturing and attracting more and more people globally – also professional athletes. Acquiring Futbin and related assets is a clear testament to Better Collective’s ambition of creating a platform that reaches esports audiences across the world. And even though more than 100 million people visit our esports platforms every month, we will continue to look for additional growth. We are very impressed with the high growth profile and the technology behind Futbin and the other assets in the portfolio. We expect to see significant positive synergistic effects with Better Collective’s business going forward”.
Esports: A fast-growing industry
The esports market has boomed in recent years. GlobeNewswire forecasts the esports market to continue growing with a 22% CAGR between 2022 to 2030, with ads and sponsorships representing the largest share of revenue.
eSports
SuperGaming Reveals Nationwide Grassroots Indus Battle Royale Esports Tournament Series With Rs. 5,50,000 Prize Pool
Made-in-India battle royale Indus is hosting its first ever series of nationwide grassroots esports tournaments dubbed Indus Inferno. This is SuperGaming’s summer special of tournaments with prizes and bragging rights on the line — but most importantly: a chance for players to experience Indus at the highest skill level and be the best in India’s first new-generation battle royale.
Created by award-winning Pune-based developer SuperGaming, Indus is an Indo-Futuristic battle royale slated for mobile, PC, and consoles with pre-registrations live on Google Play for Android. Pre-registrations for the game have crossed 10 million already.
Indus Inferno kicked off with the Regional Scrims featuring a Rs. 50,000 prize pool this week. The scrims were met with immense excitement, with players hailing from multiple cities across India.
The Indus Inferno Finale scheduled to take place on 1st June will feature a lucrative prize pool of Rs. 5,00,000.
Player registration for the Open Qualifiers is now open and will end on 19th May. The Qualifiers are set to run from 20th May to 24th May. It is important to note that only the top 2,000 players from the Inferno in-game Leaderboard will be eligible to register for the qualifiers. The top 10 winning teams from the Open Qualifiers will earn coveted spots in the finale, joining the invited esports teams for an epic showdown.
The following teams have been invited for the Indus Inferno Finale:
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Team Moggers
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Team Redlock
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Team Pushpa
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Destruction of Game
In addition to this, teams of Indus content creators, community members, several esports organizations as well as winners of past playtests will be present for the tournament. There’s a total prize pool of Rs. 5,00,000 with the winners netting Rs. 2,50,000 and the runners-up, third-place, and fourth place getting Rs. 1,00,000, Rs. 75,000, and Rs. 50,000 respectively. The most valuable player will get Rs. 25,000.
More importantly, the finale will feature India’s top esports team owners so Indus’ best players can have face to face opportunities to be scouted for a career in esports playing Indus. These include:
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Godlike Esports
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Revenant Esports
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Orangutan
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Entity Gaming
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Reckoning Esports
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Carnival Gaming
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Chemin Esports
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True Rippers
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Enigma Gaming
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Team Tamilas
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Marcos Gaming
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TWOB
“With Indus Inferno and previous Indus esports tournaments that we’ve been running since last year such as the Indus Invitational and Indus Unchained, we want to lay the foundation for a sustainable esports ecosystem for our community and the nation at large,” says SuperGaming CEO and Co-Founder Roby John. “Having India’s best esports team owners at the finale is our small way of making that happen.”
SuperGaming is also going to have exclusive rewards, developer panels, and more, so head on over to the official Indus Discord server for all the details.
Players will be able to share their thoughts on various aspects of the game and impact the direction of how SuperGaming crafts its most ambitious title yet through this official esports tournament.
This is inline with how SuperGaming has crafted its biggest hits — MaskGun and Silly Royale. Popular multiplayer shooter MaskGun has amassed over 80 million players since its launch with a relentless focus on putting its players first leading to some of its biggest community members featuring in-game as well as celebrating India-specific events like Diwali.
The post SuperGaming Reveals Nationwide Grassroots Indus Battle Royale Esports Tournament Series With Rs. 5,50,000 Prize Pool appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Zenni Optical, the world’s leading online eyewear retailer, announced a partnership with ESL FACEIT Group (EFG), the leading esports and video game entertainment company. Designed to integrate eye health education with innovative eyewear solutions for the esports community, the partnership will officially launch at DreamHack festival in Dallas, taking place from May 31 to June 2.
This collaboration will showcase a co-branded collection of lifestyle and competitive eyewear and accessories, highlighting Zenni Optical’s commitment to promoting overall eye health, particularly in addressing issues like eye fatigue and strain. Additionally, the initiative will incorporate essential eye health education across various DreamHack Festivals, in alignment with EFG’s broader mission to foster inclusive gaming worlds and engaged, supported communities.
“DreamHack and ESL represent some of the most community-centric and prestigious competitive events in the world. In their own unique ways, they embody esports for everyone. By partnering with these incredible brands across the gaming and esports spaces, we aim to create engaging experiences that combine eye-health education with innovative eyewear solutions for players and fans at all levels,” said Robb Chiarini, Head of Gaming, Sports, & Events at Zenni Optical.
“We are thrilled to partner with Zenni Optical as the Official Eyewear Partner of DreamHack and ESL. The genuine passion that Zenni has for the esports industry is a refreshing sight to see, and a major driving factor for the decision behind our partnership. Zenni’s ongoing commitment to provide eyewear for everyone mirrors our own drive to create worlds beyond gameplay for gamers everywhere,” Craig Levine, Co-CEO at EFG, said.
Anichess, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands and the progressive chess-based online strategy game developed in partnership with Chess.com and five-time World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen, today announced a partnership with global esports brand Team Secret to further connect competitive gaming and Web3. John Yao, CEO of Team Secret, will join Anichess as an advisor.
Anichess is an innovative chess-based Web3 game developed in a collaboration between Animoca Brands and Chess.com, the renowned global online chess platform. Anichess provides a novel tactical twist on the classic game of chess by implementing spells that open up new strategies and gameplay, and that require players to rethink the rules of traditional chess as they uncover the expansive lore within the world of the gameboard. Anichess recently raised a funding round of US$1.8 million, led by Sfermion and Amber Group with participation from Fenbushi Capital, Aspen Digital, SNZ Capital, and others (see announcement of 25 April 2024).
Team Secret is a global esports brand dedicated to bringing together the best gamers to compete worldwide, while also delivering entertaining experiences to its fans. It offers advertising and promotional sponsorship, talent and team development, business management, coaching, and other forms of support to both professional and aspiring players in the esports arena.
The partnership between Anichess and Team Secret aims to solidify chess’s esports status by combining a new platform to play and learn on for an engaged audience of up-and-coming online chess masters. Ahead of the player-versus-player (PvP) mode launch later in Q2 2024, Anichess will receive input from Team Secret on its game design as well as support in bringing the spellbinding game to a dedicated community of esports players.
“Esports has always been a core pillar of Anichess’ modernization of chess’ legacy,” said Brian Chan, head of Anichess. “Anichess’s engaging visuals, tools to improve and thrilling spells make it an amazing platform for all competitors, regardless of chess experience. We look forward to those willing to take on the challenge when PvP arrives in-game soon.”
“For how ancient the game of chess is, its esports scene is a fresh, rising star in terms of viewership, player base and tournaments,” said John Yao, CEO of Team Secret. “Anichess is a promising twist on chess, with even more of what makes the original great: compelling tactics, broad recognition and rewards for players willing to think outside the box and surprise opponents. I’m looking forward to guiding Anichess into the realm of esports and integrating the new chess platform into our dedicated community.”
The post ANICHESS PARTNERS WITH ESPORTS LEADER TEAM SECRET AHEAD OF PVP LAUNCH appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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