China e-sports business VSPN lifts Series B to $160m

Prospect Avenue Capital, Guotai Junan International, and Nan Fung Group have provided $60 million, extending a nearly $100 million commitment in October led by Tencent. Tiantu Capital, SIG, and domestic short video player Kuaishou Technology joined the Tencent-led tranche.

It comes less than two weeks after VSPN completed an acquisition of sector marketing specialist Banana Gaming & Media for an undisclosed sum. The company described the acquisition as crucial for its global expansion plans, the building of an e-sports ecosystem, and the creation of premium content, including immersive experiences.

Founded in 2016, VSPN positions itself as China’s leading e-sports promoter, claiming to serve 70% of the domestic premium events market as a “solutions provider.” Also known as Versus Programming Network, VSPN’s branding is a direct reference to ESPN, a traditional sports broadcaster in the US. The start-up differentiates itself by organizing and physically hosting many of the tournaments it broadcasts via TV and streams online.

VSPN’s event-oriented assets include four large e-sports venues in Shanghai, Chengdu, and Xi’an, which in addition to hosting videogame matches provide retail and co-working space. There is also a strong focus on sponsorship and commercialization services whereby VSPN helps teams, game titles, and game production and publishing companies such as Tencent Games establish co-branding partnerships with the likes of McDonald’s, Volkswagen, and Intel.

The company said the fresh capital will be used for developing technologies focused on events production, expanding the current offering of products and content, reaching out to more overseas markets, and “deepening the layout of e-sports IP [intellectual property] trends and operations.” Previous investors include Focus Media, Sequoia Capital China, CMC Group, China Jiansheng Sports Industry Fund, Guangdian Capital, and Averest Capital.

VSPN’s mix of online and offline services highlights the maturation of the gaming sector from a sub-segment of the entertainment industry into a more expansive opportunity set of lifestyle verticals. This evolution has come about in part because gaming has moved from youth culture to the social mainstream during a time of rapid development in media technology. The global e-sports industry is expected to be worth more than $300 billion by 2025, with Asia representing most of the growth.

“The e-sports industry is through its nascent phase and is entering a new era,” Dino Ying, founder and CEO of VSPN, said in a statement. “We are counting the days until the pandemic is over and we hope that we can make fast and steady progress in expanding VSPN internationally, participating in the making of global esports standards and supporting the development of a sustainable e-sports ecosystem worldwide.”

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Early-stage
• Consumer
• Media
• China
• TMT
• Tencent
• Tiantu Capital
• Prospect Avenue Capital