Savvy Gaming Group buys ESL for one billion US dollars

Mega merger in the Esports industry: Saudi giant Savvy Gaming Group has bought Esports platform ESL. Cologne-based e-sports operator ESL Gaming, most recently owned by Swedish media conglomerate Modern Times Group, is changing hands for around one billion US dollars.

ESL goes to SGG

According to concurring media reports, the Savvy Gaming Group (SGG) has paid 1.05 billion US dollars for the purchase of the Esports platform ESL, thanks to the support of the sovereign wealth fund PIF (Public Investmend Fund) from Saudi Arabia around the controversial Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The takeover is to be fully completed by mid-2022, with ESL becoming 100 percent owned by SGG. The two companies officially confirmed this on January 24.

Since its founding in 2000, ESL has hosted competitive Esports events in titles large and small, including Counter-Strike, League of Legends, Dota 2 and many more. World-renowned events such as Dreamhack and Intel Extreme Masters are also part of ESL’s portfolio. According to a report by Handelsblatt, Ralf Reichert, founder of ESL Gaming GmbH, is changing posts and will be named executive chairman in the future.

ESL and FACEIT Merge

At the same time, Savvy Gaming Group also bought FACEIT, one of ESL’s biggest competitors. In total, the Saudis made the deal cost around 1.5 billion US dollars. Both platforms are to be merged and will continue to operate under the new name ESL FACEIT Group in the future.

From the acquisition and merger, ESL CEO Craig Levine expects “more know-how, opportunities and resources”. The two big names in the Esports industry are to continue to drive growth under a common umbrella in the future.

State fund PIF gets involved almost everywhere

A few days after Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard, the acquisition of ESL and FACEIT marks the second billion-dollar deal in the games industry for the still-young year of 2022. For Savvy Gaming Group, the purchase marks its entry into the Esports industry, but in the gaming sector the state fund PIF is no stranger.

Money from the fund has already been invested in companies such as Take-Two, Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard. The Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund has also recently invested heavily in traditional sports, for example in the takeover of the traditional British club Newcastle United.