Shanghai-based esports company VSPO (formerly VSPN) has secured a $265M USD Series C investment from Savvy Games Group. With this investment, Savvy Games Group becomes the biggest overseas shareholder in VSPO. The investment is reportedly an all cash deal. Savvy Games Group, which also owns tournament organizer ESL FACEIT Group, is backed by the Saudi government’s Public Investment Fund, or PIF.
Founded in 2016 by Dino Ying (who currently serves as CEO), VSPO has hosted multiple competitions in China, Southeast Asia, and South Korea, featuring such games as Honor of Kings, Peacekeeper Elite, CrossFire, PUBG, and PUBG MOBILE. From 2020 to 2021, VSPO raised over $160M USD in a Series B funding round led by Tencent Holdings; a Series B+ led by Prospect Avenue Capital; and Series 2B led by Morgan Stanley.
VSPO hosts large-scale tournaments for Chinese game publisher Tencent esports leagues such as the King Pro League (KPL) and Peace Elite League (PEL). Earlier this month, VSPO rebranded from VSPN.
On Feb. 6, Dino and VSPO CFO Danny Tang attended the “Leap23” business conference in Riyadh, speaking about “the esports revolution” alongside VOV Gaming CEO Jerry Gamesz, Powerleague Gaming CEO Matt Pickering, and Holodeck Ventures CEO Paul Dawalibi. Dino and Tang officially signed the deal with Savvy Games Group in Riyadh on Thursday.
Savvy Games Group, which is backed by the Saudi Arabian government’s Public Investment Fund, bought two of esports biggest tournament operators – ESL and FACEIT from Swedish media group Modern Times Group last year, for a combined $1.5B.
