OverActive Media announced today that hospitality entrepreneur, David Grutman has become an investor in the esports organisation.
Grutman formed Groot Hospitality in 2018 to host several of his hospitality ventures. Groot Hospitality’s portfolio currently includes LIV, Story, Komodo, OTL, Planta South Beach as well as Swan and Bar Bevy.
Speaking on his investment, Grutman said: “I have a passion for supporting the leaders in every field. Similar to what I do with my existing portfolio, I’m excited to help amplify OverActive Media’s reach into the global esports industry.”
OAM is a global esports brand with teams in the League of Legends European Championship, Overwatch League, Call of Duty World League, Rocket League, Starcraft and Smite. They are in fact one of only five organisations in the world with permanent slots in both League of Legends (Splyce) and the Overwatch League (Toronto Defiant).
Chris Overholt, CEO and President of OverActive Media, said: “We continue to attract high calibre investments to our organisation, and we are especially excited to welcome David Grutman to our investor family.
“David is among the most successful hospitality and nightlife entertainment moguls in the U.S., and we are happy that he is investing into the work we’re doing to grow the esports industry globally.”
At the beginning of April, it was announced that Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye joined the OAM ownership group. Tesfaye is now a global ambassador of both its League of Legends and Overwatch brand. In January they announced a $22 million (£17.1 million) funding round which helped with the final acquisition of Splyce and finance for Overwatch team Toronto Defiant.
Esports Insider says: OverActive Media continues to add diverse investors to its organisation. While this is Grutman’s first step into the esports, there is no doubt his wealth of hospitality experience will add unique value to OAM.
