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With esports revenues and viewership mounting, industry insiders believe the market is poised for continued growth as investors increasingly jump in, revenue sources evolve and technology rapidly advances.
That’s according to the second annual Esports Survey of more than 200 executives conducted by law firm Foley & Lardner and The Esports Observer.
This surge in esports investment is expected to come primarily from private equity and venture capital firms and from traditional professional sports teams and leagues, athletes and celebrities. Advertising and sponsorships are expected to drive the greatest portion of the industry’s revenue growth, followed by in-game purchases
Context Capital Partners, an alternative specialist firm with holdings and operating companies in various sectors of the alternatives space, has appointed Eric Noll as Chief Executive Officer of Context Capital Partners, with Ron Biscardi (pictured) shifting to become Chief Executive Officer of Context Summits on a full-time basis.
In his new role, Noll will be responsible for overall management of Context Capital Partners and its various holdings, growth initiatives and strategic partnerships. The addition of Noll will allow Biscardi, who has served as CEO of Context Capital Partners since 2005, to focus on the overall long-term strategic direction and continued growth and success
Bunker Hill Capital, a Boston-based private equity investor in lower middle market companies, has sold ASPEQ Heating Group (ASPEQ), a St Louis-based manufacturer of highly engineered electric‐heating and thermal‐management technologies to San Francisco-based Industrial Growth Partners.
Bunker Hill Capital acquired ASPEQ in June 2015 and was joined in the transaction with equity, senior debt and subordinated debt financing from management, Abacus Finance Group, Madison Capital Funding, BB&T Capital Partners and BMO Mezzanine Fund. In addition to the incumbent management team, Bunker Hill Capital recruited Dave Smith as CEO in 2017, and Jim Killeen as Vice President of Sales in early 2018.
“We
Keensight Capital, a private equity managers dedicated to pan-European Growth Buyout investment has signed an exclusivity agreement with mid cap investor Naxicap with a view to buying a majority stake in Sogelink, a provider of vertical software solutions for infrastructure sector professionals.
Keensight Capital will become the majority shareholder of Sogelink, alongside Naxicap, management and employees.
Founded in 2000, Sogelink designs, develops and markets software and SaaS (Software as a Service) solutions intended to simplify and optimise complex business processes in the building site, infrastructure and property management industry.
With its unique collaborative platform, Sogelink stands as a pioneer and
Zeus Capital, an independent investment bank, has advised on eight transactions across public and private markets since June 2019, with a gross value of approximately GBP600 million.
Zeus Capital has been particularly active in the consumer market, working with a number of technology-enabled businesses. The firm acted as the sole financial advisor to Manchester-based retail company, boohoo.com, on its acquisition of of two British brands, Karen Millen and Coast. The deal saw boohoo purchase the online operations and intellectual property rights of the two companies.
Zeus Capital also acted as financial adviser to Gousto, a supplier of subscription meal
Fried Frank has advised Balderton Capital (Balderton), an early stage venture capital investor, on a new USD400 million VC fund, Balderton VII (the Fund).
The Fund was oversubscribed having attracted support from investors internationally. It will primarily invest in European technology companies at Series A-stage. Balderton invests in entrepreneurs building global businesses.
Mark Mifsud, London managing partner at Fried Frank, says: “The Fried Frank team is delighted to be a part of Balderton’s latest fund raising, continuing our long-standing relationship with the firm and further demonstrating our expertise in the areas of venture and growth capital funds.”
Halal baby food manufacturer for aisha has secured the backing of the Foresight Group, an independent infrastructure and private equity investment firm.
The investment will enable for aisha to develop its UK and international expansion plans, bolster its management team and further invest in its trade and consumer marketing activities.
For aisha was founded by Mark Salter in 2015. It is currently the only halal baby food manufacturer in the UK.
“for aisha is aimed at all parents who want to feed their children nutritious meals with real ingredients,” says Salter. “We have a wide variety of meals
By Gary Paulin (pictured), Global Head of Integrated Trading Solutions, Northern Trust Capital Markets – The asset management industry is facing unprecedented pressure from competition, fees, regulatory and compliance challenges, technology costs and shifting product demand. The resulting squeeze on margins is forcing many to lower operating costs and increase scale via consolidation and/or outsourcing.
In recent years, asset servicing has experienced two distinct cycles of outsourcing. In the 1980s, it was the back office. In the early 2000s, it was the middle office. Pressure on asset management is leading to a third wave of outsourcing, this time around the front
Private equity firm New Water Capital (NWC) has made a significant investment in the Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) sector, with the recapitalisation of DataED and Bestronics – two Tier III manufacturers focusing on high-mix, low/medium-volume printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs) and box builds.
Founded in 1980, Salem, New Hampshire-based DataED’s manufacturing capacity includes 75,000 square feet of state-of-the-art facilities in Salem, including a New Product Introduction facility, as well as two manufacturing plants totaling 85,000 square feet located in Shenzhen, China.
Bestronics, founded in 1990, operates a world-class, 145,000-square-foot campus, including high-tech manufacturing and dedicated box build manufacturing facilities, in
Puma Private Equity (Puma), the private equity division of Puma Investments, has completed a GBP2.75 million investment in MyKindaFuture (MKF).
The capital injection will enable MKF to expand its mission to help employers access a broader and more diverse talent pool, improve retention rates and tackle skills shortages.
As the UK’s largest emerging talent specialist, MKF offers a one-stop-shop for businesses looking to build meaningful relationships with future employees, especially at apprentice and graduate level. The outcomes have already proven hugely successful, reducing drop-out rates through the recruitment process by as much as 44%, and improving retention rates once
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