eSports company Emerge Gaming (ASX:EM1) commenced trading on the Australian Securities Exchange this morning, following an oversubscribed $5 million capital raise.
Emerge owns online tournament platform Gaming Battleground, which has hosted over 10,000 online tournaments across 9 AAA major eSports titles and more than 300 additional games accessible on mobile, console or PC.
Emerge Gaming: Bert Mondello, Greg Stevens, Jonathan Hart
The platform provides revenue via player subscriptions through telco providers with Emerge already securing a partnership with MTN Group Ltd – Africa’s largest mobile network operator by sales. While the agreement will initially target the telco’s 31 million South African subscribers, the partnership places Emerge in a strong position to expand its user base to MTN’s 232 million subscribers.
The company’s innovative revenue model will also generate profits from corporate sponsorship opportunities and advertising, supported by advanced data analytics and targeting capability. Advertising revenue from companies engaging users of the lifestyle portal will also contribute to future revenue.
The $5 million capital raise, completed by Hunter Capital Advisors and Regency Corporate, was heavily oversubscribed with strong support from domestic and international institutional and retail investors.
Emerge Gaming’s CEO Greg Stevens said the funds will be used for market development and expansion into emerging gaming markets, where 74 per cent of the world’s 2.1 billion casual gamers reside.
We are excited to be offering Australian investors the chance to be part of the growing eSports online gaming sector with a company offering revenue opportunities that provide users and sponsor companies with a more engaging experience for everyone,” he said.
Emerge Chairman Bert Mondello added that the global eSports market is growing at 6.6 per cent CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) – faster than both the music and film industries – and is expected to reach US$122 billion in global revenue in 2019.
“Innovative companies like Emerge Gaming find that through the ASX they have access to an educated local investment community that understands the way companies like this operate through their expansion phases,” said Mr Mondello.
