With the first quarter of 2019 coming to an end, March brought a number of investments within the esports industry, along with a hardware company acquisition and an impending acquisition of a prominent esports organization. All told, the moves add up to more than $100M USD in disclosed funding flowing into esports last month.
Turtle Beach and ROCCAT Team Up
Credit: Newzoo
Headset maker Turtle Beach announced the acquisition of German PC peripheral maker ROCCAT 
in mid-March, with the deal worth as much as $19.2M total in cash, stock, and earnout payments.
Turtle Beach’s largest focus is the console headset market, where it has owned at least a 40% market share over the last nine years, while ROCCAT has a stronger presence in the PC market with its keyboard, mice, and headsets. Beyond gaining a more viable position with PC players, the deal also opens up new international distribution channels in places like Germany and Asia.
Newzoo reports that the acquisition will also help Turtle Beach expand its reach in Europe, where PC gaming is prevalent. Combined awareness of the brands would make Turtle Beach the #3 best-known peripheral brand in Europe at 33%, while Logitech
sits at 54% and Razer is at 41%.
Luminosity’s Big Moves
Credit: Luminosity Gaming
Late in the month, Aquilini GameCo Inc. announced that it has raised $25M CAD ($18.7M) to acquire Luminosity Gaming
, as well as to fund growth initiatives and provide working capital.
The company, a subsidiary of Aquilini Investment Group, will perform a reverse takeover to acquire J55 Capital Corporation, a shell company that is publicly traded at the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) Venture Exchange. Furthermore, J55 Capital Corp has created a wholly-owned subsidiary (11305751 Canada Inc.) to conduct a three-cornered amalgamation to complete the deal, due to the companies being incorporated under different corporate statutes.
Related Article: Aquilini GameCo Raises $18.7M to Acquire Luminosity Gaming
Aquilini and Luminosity Gaming are already partners through the Vancouver Titans Overwatch League
team, which is owned by Aquilini and operated by Luminosity. The Aquilini Group also owns the Vancouver Canucks NHL team and the Rogers Arena in Vancouver via its Canucks Sports and Entertainment subsidiary, which will provide marketing and business support services to Luminosity via a Vancouver Arena Limited Partnership.
Team Investments
Credit: EVOS Esports
Southeast Asian team EVOS Esports closed a Series A funding round to the tune of $3.8M. EVOS did not publicly disclose the investors, but claimed that one is a “prominent” Singapore VC. The organization will use the funding to improve its infrastructure by hiring more support staff and enhancing its training facilities, as well as pursuing plans to establish teams in India, Malaysia, Philippines, and Taiwan.
Meanwhile, French team GamersOrigin raised a €3M EUR ($3.3M USD) funding round, the organization’s third to date. Investors included French management firm Entrepreneur Venture, as well as Florent Steiner and his firm, Pinou Capital. The capital will partially be used to develop a Paris-based training facility with medical services for players.
Beijing-based organization Lao Pao (LP) also raised nearly ¥10M RMB ($1.31M) in a Series A round, with Chinese VC firm Xiaoyao Capital co-leading the round along with two unnamed individual angel investors.
Other Notable Investments
Credit: Wormhole Labs
- G-Loot secured the largest investment round of March, with the Swedish online tournament organizer raising $25M to boost the number of PC and mobile competitions that award prizes around the globe. Participants in the round included existing owners Swedbank Robur and the Nordic Asset Management company, Norron.
- Startup Wormhole Labs raised an $8M seed round to develop out and launch its Wormhole social app, which lets gaming and esports fans connect in augmented reality rooms based on real-world events and locations. The app will launch on iOS, Android, and PC, and feature Twitch integration to help fans connect with streamers. West Coast Capital Partners led the round in the United States, while Byzantine Partners led it internationally.
