One week ago, competing tournament organisers ESL and FACEIT unified in a $1.5bn merger and acquisition deal that shocked the industry. It was by far the biggest acquisition in esports since… well, the week before, when Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard for $68.7bn (~£50.5bn).
Savvy Gaming Group, an investment group launched by the Saudi Arabian government’s Public Investment Fund, paid $1.05bn (~£780m) for ESL Gaming and is reported to have paid $500m (~£370m) for FACEIT. The two entities then merged to form the ESL FACEIT Group. The acquisition has faced criticism by many over Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.
To better understand the deal and its implications, Esports Insider asked ESL FACEIT Group co-CEO’s Craig Levine and Niccolo Maisto to tell their side of what is inarguably one of the biggest stories in esports history
Niccolo Maisto: For the last 10 years we have been working in the same space, and the nature and skillset of our respective businesses created a natural synergy across multiple avenues from content and events through to our goals. This complimentary direction heightened over the last 3-4 years and the merger will help to define our services in a better way. Our overall objective is to develop and support sustainable ecosystems across multiple games, and the merger will allow us to define our offering more clearly.
We will create joint initiatives that reflect who we are as the ESL FACEIT Group, some of which you can already read about, but each team and product will have the chance to focus on their own strengths and be empowered by the internal synergies that this merger will bring.
ESI: Do you know why Savvy Gaming Group has bought ESL & FACEIT, and what its intentions are with the new company?
Craig Levine: [Savvy Gaming Group] believes in the future of competitive gaming and our role in it. They believe in our organisation, our products, and our people to deliver on that ambition. As such, our organisational governance setup is the same as before; our vision and leadership remain the same. With that said, our new backing will allow us to realise a lot of the improvements and ideas we have talked about for years. We’re supercharging our growth plans, and all parts of the company will be along for the ride.
ESI: There has been some criticism regarding the fact that the group was purchased by a Saudi Arabian government-owned entity, considering the country’s human rights record. How would you comment in response to this?
Maisto: We understand the concerns but our values towards inclusivity for our employees, talent, partners and fans have not changed and they will never be changed. We base our operations on the same set of values which puts inclusivity at the centre of what we do.
Levine: We believe in the gaming community as a force for good, and this new investment will only accelerate our work in this area… This new merger and investment is crucial to us achieving this dream. As such, we continue to operate as an independent company owned by SGG who, in turn, is an apolitical, fully commercial entity independent of the government, with its own leadership team led by Brian Ward, former head of worldwide studios at Activision Blizzard
