esports: Savvy Gaming, linked to Saudi fund PIF, acquires ESL Gaming (€927m) and FACEIT

Savvy Gaming Group (SGG), an entity founded and controlled by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund (Public Investment Fund/PIF), has acquired ESL Gaming, an esports event organiser, from Modern Times Group (MTG), announced the Swedish media group on 24/01/2022. The acquisition values ESL Gaming at $1.050bn (€927m).

"SGG is simultaneously acquiring FACEIT and will merge the two companies to create the leading global platform for competitive gaming - ESL FACEIT Group. The transaction, subject to regulatory approvals which will include anti-trust and foreign investment screening, is expected to close in Q2 2022," explained MTG.

"MTG owns 91.46% of ESL Gaming, which corresponds to $960m (€847m) of the total enterprise value and represents a total return on investment of 2.5 times," added Modern Times Group, which acquired ESL and DreamHack in 2015, and subsequently merged the two companies under the name ESL Gaming.

"An exceptional crystallisation of value for MTG's shareholders" (M. Redin, Modern Times Group)

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