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Leading Gaming, Esports, and Entertainment Media Network Will Accelerate Strategic Acquisition Opportunities and Expand Into Adjacent Markets
SYDNEY, Oct. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- GAMURS, the leading gaming, esports, and entertainment media network, today announced it has closed a $17.8M AUD ($12M USD) Series A funding round. U.S. based investors Elysian Park Ventures, the private investment arm affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers ownership group, and Cerro Capital co-led the round, with participation from Powerhouse Capital, Aura Ventures, and Artesian.
GAMURS will leverage the financing to accelerate its rapid growth strategy and expansion into adjacent markets. Founded by Riad Chikani in 2014, GAMURS has quickly developed into one of the industry's largest media networks, with 55 million active monthly users across its portfolio of 16 major digital publications covering esports, gaming, and entertainment.
"We are incredibly proud to have the backing of Elysian Park Ventures, Cerro Capital, and all of our incredible investors," said Riad Chikhani, Founder and CEO of GAMURS. "The round not only presents a fresh injection of growth capital, but offers the opportunity to collaborate with strategically aligned investors who will actively add value in our journey to redefine gaming and entertainment media."
The company's organic growth profile has been amplified by acquiring small, underdeveloped digital media platforms and providing them with the tools, resources and global platform they need to scale with purpose. With the company already being profitable, the funds from this raise will predominantly be used towards further acquisition opportunities, as it continues to see these investments as core to its business model. As of July 2022, GAMURS' revenue is tracking at 158% up on the previous year, and its EBITDA has more than doubled.
"At Cerro Capital, we view GAMURS as the driving force to consolidate an incredibly fragmented esports and gaming media ecosystem. Through a number of M&A transactions to date, we've seen that they're incredibly adept at identifying targets, running a smooth integration process, and driving near immediate growth in audience and revenue, in a profitable manner," said Ashish Patel, Cerro Capital Co-Founder and Managing Partner. "We've been consistently impressed by CEO Riad Chikhani's discipline and leadership in operating the organisation profitably - a rare feat in today's digital media environment - all while still being under-monetised from an advertising perspective."
According to Grand View Research, the global esports market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 21.9% through 2030, with factors influencing market growth including an increase in live streaming of games, rising audience reach, and infrastructure for league tournaments, among others. Since its inception, GAMURS has been at the forefront of identifying authentic and authoritative voices in the space, including its flagship brand, Dot Esports, and Gamepur. The market presents a unique opportunity for GAMURS to continue growing in terms of organic reach, and it plans to expand on its monetisation strategy to amplify its yield and earnings across its portfolio of brands.
In addition to its extensive media portfolio, GAMURS supports brands looking to reach its sizable esports and gaming audience which is predominantly 18-34 year-olds (64%). GAMURS' service offerings include strategic sponsorships, digital media buying, bespoke content creation and campaign solutions, product partnerships, and more. GAMURS has created innovative campaigns with leading global brands such as McDonald's, Red Bull, Nintendo, Intel, and more.
"Our mission at Elysian Park Ventures is to invest in companies that are going to have a profound impact on the sports world," said Nikhil Bahel, Elysian Park Ventures Managing Partner. "GAMURS has quickly snuck up on the emerging esports market with a sustainable business model, and a remarkably focused and passionate founder in Riad. We're excited to support the company as it continues to scale and present more opportunities for both consumers and advertisers."
"We're thrilled to continue to follow-on our investment into GAMURS for the third time, a testament to the company's rapid growth and success. Our conviction has never been stronger as the team continues to deliver impressive results and maintains a healthy profitability margin," said Eric Chan, Aura Ventures Managing Partner.
GAMURS Group's far-reaching gaming and entertainment network reaches 55 million monthly users across its group of mastheads. Its media portfolio includes Dot Esports, the world's premier destination for competitive gaming news, Gamepur, a fastly growing voice in gaming journalism, Pro Game Guides, featuring in-depth guides for all gaming genres and devices, TouchTapPlay, a top destination for mobile gaming news and guides, We Got This Covered, a wide-reaching entertainment news site, and The Mary Sue, the geek girls' guide to the entertainment universe, and others.
Elysian Park Ventures is a private investment firm created by the ownership group of the Los Angeles Dodgers that partners with exceptional entrepreneurs operating at the intersection of sports, technology, and entertainment. Based in Los Angeles, New York, and London, Elysian Park invests across stages from seed to growth, and also provides entrepreneurs with strategic, operational, and management resources through the Global Sports Venture Studio, Trailblazer Venture Studio, and Robin, among others. Learn more at elysianpark.ventures.
Cerro Capital, a global sports investment firm, has launched a growth equity fund investing in the Future of Sports. Founded in 2021, by a team of principal investors and operators with decades of global experience, deep seated industry relationships, and access to premium deal flow, the fund aims to be the leading growth capital investor for Sports IP & Technology - a specialised yet significantly large and influential global industry reaching massive adjacent markets.
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