MTG acquires DreamHack
MTG has simultaneously agreed and completed the acquisition of DreamHack, which is one of the world’s largest esports companies and organizer of the world’s largest digital festivals – DreamHack Summer and DreamHack Winter in Sweden. DreamHack is the leading esports player in Scandinavia and runs both local and global esports leagues, tournaments and championships. The company’s seven live events in 2014 attracted a total audience of over 105,000 people, and esports fans have watched 34 million hours of DreamHack content online.
Established in Sweden just over twenty years ago, DreamHack produces and hosts The DreamHack Open European esports championship; the DreamLeague international esports league for Dota 2 players; and the ESPORTSM Swedish national esports championship. DreamHack also organizes live events in Spain, Romania, Russia, France and the United Kingdom, and will for the first time host events in Germany and the US in 2016.
MTG is acquiring 100% of DreamHack for an enterprise value of SEK 244 million, from private investors and the company’s management. Management will continue to drive the development of the business. The company generated SEK 69 million of sales in 2014 and was profitable for the full year. It is expected to generate double digit sales growth in 2015.
This investment follows MTG’s recent acquisition of 74% of ESL, the world’s largest esports company. MTG also recently invested in Zoomin, Europe’s largest multi-channel network, and in Splay, the number one multi-channel network in Scandinavia, both of which have large gaming communities and channels.
“DreamHack is the leading esports company in Scandinavia and attracts millions of passionate gamers to its online leagues and live events. This complements our recent investment in ESL, and reinforces our commitment to video gaming as one of the most watched and fastest growing online video categories. We are excited about working with DreamHack’s talented team to bring this great entertainment to even larger audiences around the world.
Our strategy is to invest in relevant, complementary and scalable digital brands, content and communities. We are creating a digital video entertainment ecosystem and esports is at the very centre of this given its global appeal and huge following.”
Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, MTG President and CEO
“DreamHack is already Sweden’s largest digital festival. MTG’s investment will not only enable us to consolidate our position, but also accelerate the international expansion of our festivals across the globe. Our vision is to make DreamHack the festival of choice for Millennials everywhere.
We have years of experience as an innovative and successful esports organizer and broadcaster, and of making entertaining esports content for both traditional and digital media partners. We have been working closely with MTG for the past two years to grow the esports even further, so we know each other well and look forward to taking our cooperation to a new level.”
Marcus Lindmark, DreamHack CEO
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MTG (Modern Times Group MTG AB (publ.)) is an international entertainment group. Our operations span six continents and include TV channels and platforms, online services, content production businesses and radio stations. We are also the largest shareholder in CTC Media, which is Russia’s leading independent media company. Our shares are listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm (‘MTGA’ and ‘MTGB’).
The information in this announcement is that which MTG is required to disclose according to the Securities Market Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act, and was released at 08.30 CET on 12 November 2015.
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