Enthusiast Gaming (EGLX.V) is up in early trading on the TSX Venture Exchange after announcing it has closed its oversubscribed private placement of shares for gross proceeds of $9 million.
The company is perhaps best known for its Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo; the most recent edition was held Oct. 26 to 28 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
During the expo, Enthusiast Gaming partnered with OverActive Media to present the debut of the new Toronto Defiant team in the pro e-sports Overwatch League (OWL).
According to company figures, more than 30,000 people attended the latest EGLX, making it the most successful edition yet.
Enthusiast Gaming CEO Menashe Kestenbaum believes it’s part of a growing trend.
“The success and significant growth of EGLX over the last few years reconfirms the growth of the gaming industry. Enthusiast Gaming is well positioned with the largest independent online network of gamers in North America, and we are excited to explore options within our events division to take EGLX to the next level in becoming an industry leader worldwide.”
The growth of professional e-sports has set hearts aflutter in the Canadian public markets, though many who want to get into the opportunity struggle to figure out where investor returns will come from.
https://equity.guru/2018/09/17/heres-whats-next-e-sports-happening-right-now-hells-coming/
Kestenbaum noted the funds from his company’s financing will be used to complete significant acquisitions to increase top-line revenue, as well as build out its executive team with leading industry experts. The company will continue to execute its defined growth strategy, organically and through acquisitions.
Founded in 2014, Enthusiast claims to be the fastest-growing online community of video gamers. Through the company’s unique acquisition strategy, it has a platform of over 70 owned and affiliated websites and currently reaches over 75 million monthly visitors with its unique and curated content.
In a time when large, medium, and niche media operations are struggling for relevancy and finance, Enthusiast is taking a contrarian approach, believing it can monetize audiences in ways that go far beyond mere advertising to eyeballs.
The market has rewarded them with a $47m market cap over the first six weeks of trading.
– Bo Ramone