Dec 2, 2019 - Economy

Esports group Astralis plans industry's first IPO

Dan Primack

Illustration of a gamer and a line graph — Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Astralis, a Denmark-based esports group that includes the world's top-ranked Counter-Strike team, is planning to go public next week in Copenhagen.

Why it matters: This would be the first-ever public listing of an esports group, possibly priming investors for future floats from larger organizations.

Canada's Overactive Media, for example, has been weighing an IPO, and NRG Sports' Andy Miller tells Axios that he's been approached by Canadian banks about a Toronto listing ("we felt it was too early").

Details: Astralis is set to list on the Nasdaq's Copenhagen exchange for small companies, raising between $18 million to $22 million.

The bottom line: "The global esports market will generate almost $2 billion in 2022, with global esports viewership expected to reach 595 million that year," writes Bloomberg's Nick Rigillo.

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Esports group Astralis plans industry's first IPO

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