ESforce

ESforce is an esports organization.

The company owns more than 14 popular sites and 209 groups on social networks with a total audience of 12 million subscribers and 116 million users per year, which provide coverage of 90% of viewers of e-sports broadcasts in Russia and the CIS, as well as coverage of a significant part of the profile international audience.

ESforce owns:

• Two world-class esports teams - Virtus.pro and SK Gaming.
• Epic Esports Events, specializes in organizing international competitions and is the organizer of the EPICENTER Dota 2 and CS: GO tournaments.
• RuHub commentary, analytics and video packaging studio, online broadcasts of the holding's projects annually attract more than 82 million unique users.
• Resources about e-sports Cybersport.ru and Cybersport.com, which includes the CyberBase database, which contains information about most tournaments, clubs, teams and e-sportsmen.
• Yota Arena in Moscow is a platform for holding e-sports tournaments with an area of ​ ​ over 5,000 square meters. m, designed for more than a thousand seats.
• Service portals for the exchange of in-game items CS: GO Lounge and Dota 2 Lounge.
• Fragstore is a manufacturer and distributor of esports clothing and accessories with a presence in 20 countries (12 of them in Europe).

History

2024: Collection of millions of debts from the company of the beneficiary of the Betting League

In August 2024, it became known that VK the owned company "Isforce RUS" (VK Play Arena) recovered a debt of ₽5,9 million from LLC "Main Line" - the company of the beneficiary "Betting Leagues" and chairman of the Federation of People's Commissars Russia Alexei Avsetsin.

According to the Agency Business News, the debt was formed as a result of non-payment of services for the provision of the right to broadcast a live broadcast. According to the case file, in August 2023, the parties entered into an agreement under which LLC "Main Line" received the right to broadcast and use symbols. The company transferred payment for August, September and October 2023, but did not pay for services in November and December 2023, resulting in a huge debt.

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VK

VK recovered a multimillion-dollar debt from the company of the beneficiary of the Betting League

The court finds the plaintiff's calculation of the amount of the penalty justified, the counter-calculation by the defendant is not presented, - indicated in the court decision.

As a result, LLC "Main Line" will have to pay not only a huge debt, but also a penalty of ₽111,9 thousand.

According to the "Agency Business News," LLC "Main Line" is registered in an apartment building, where another 149 companies are registered. In it, 33.33% each belongs to Alexei Avsetsin, Evgeny Bodnar and Vladimir Ursul. The company is engaged in the creation and use of databases and information resources.

In addition, Vp-bearloga.ru and Cyber-loft.ru domains used by the esports clubs of the same name located in the Yota Arena are registered at Isforce RUS. Earlier, the largest e-sports arena Yota Arena acquired a new partner - Isforce RUS under the leadership of VK Management Company LLC. Operator Yota and the esports holding ESforce, which owns Yota and the arena, which owns the arena, did not renew the contract for branding and partnership with Yota Arena.^[1]

2019

Mail.Ru Group announced a partnership with Modern Pick

According to the terms, the Russian holding will transfer Modern Pick as its contribution a 51% stake in ESforce (e-sports business asset Mail.Ru Group). The implied estimate of this share is $56 million. The combined company at the time of closing the transaction will be estimated at $350 million, respectively, Mail.Ru Group will receive a 16% stake in Modern Pick in addition to the 3% of the company it already has. According to Mail.Ru Group, the partnership will allow both sides to build a diversified e-sports business with a presence in Russia, the CIS countries and Europe.

According to the press service of Mail.Ru Group, implied by the partnership agreement, which was approved by the board of directors of Mail.Ru Group, the ESforce estimate is $110 million. At the same time, the total assessment of ESforce assets acquired by Mail.Ru Group, taking into account SK Gaming and catering and esports paraphernalia businesses, which were sold earlier for more than $10 million, is over $120 million. "It is predicted that the closing of the transaction under the agreement will be completed in the coming months, and ESforce will be excluded from the consolidated financial statements of Mail.Ru Group and the results of the second quarter will be presented in pro forma. In fiscal 2018, ESforce's revenue amounted to 2.7 billion rubles, EBITDA - 0.7 billion rubles, "the press service of Mail.Ru Group said, noting that after the closing of the deal, Mail.Ru Group will work with ESforce, in which it will own 49%, on market terms, including in the field of targeted advertising using Mail.Ru Group services.

The press service of Mail.Ru Group also indicated that in the long term, the company may change the size of its share in ESforce up or down, depending on a number of operating KPIs of the combined company for 2022. "Mail.Ru Group's share will be revalued based on financial indicators for 2022. If total revenue for 2022 is below the established minimum threshold, Mail.ruGroup may withdraw from the combined company and receive 51% of ESforce back. Mail.Ru Group may also cancel the transaction if Modern Pick does not fulfill the conditions for raising funds and consolidating assets approved under the agreement, "Mail.Ru Group said.

Agreement with Daimler and FC Cologne to sell a 67% stake in SK Gaming

On January 15, 2019, Esforce signed an agreement to sell a 67% stake in SK Gaming to the automobile concern Daimler (Mercedes-Benz brand) and the Cologne football club. The deal completed more than 20 years of Cherepennikov's relationship with the esports industry.

2018: Acquisition by Mail.Ru Group

Mail.ru Group on January 22, 2018 announced the purchase of a 100% stake in the esports holding ESforce. The deal, which was signed on January 19, should be closed in the first quarter of 2018 and still needs to be agreed with third parties. Mail.Ru Group will acquire 100% of ESforce for cash. The purchase cost at the close of the transaction will be $100 million, which includes the repayment of all debts. Also at the end of 2018, a payment will be made, the amount of which will depend on the achieved KPIs for specific financial and operational goals. It is assumed that the amount of payment will be about $20 million.

Mail.Ru Group acquires the business from Anton Cherepennikov and Highland Falls Investment. Member of the Board of Directors of Mail.Ru Group Vladimir Streshinsky abstained from voting in order to avoid a conflict of interest. An independent board committee was formed to oversee the acquisition, which also advised disinterested board members. The committee was independently evaluated by Deloitte and Morgan Stanley. All disinterested and independent directors approved the deal.

Mail.Ru Group will fully consolidate ESforce and disclose its financial results on a comparable basis. At the same time, in the combined structure, ESforce will remain an independent holding, and this decision will not affect the status and operational work of the company.

As noted, ESforce is one of the largest esports organizations in the world and the largest in Russia and Eastern Europe. In 2017, the holding's audience amounted to 116 million users, the number of sessions reached 440 million; users of streaming platforms watched more than 120 million hours of online broadcasts. Revenue for 2017 is expected to be about $19 million, showing an increase of about 150% compared to last year.

The global esports market continues to grow at an incredibly high rate, with some forecasts that it will overtake the traditional sports market over the next decade. ESForce is one of the world leaders. We are glad that the talented team that built this business will remain in the company in full force. This purchase fully fits into our strategy and contains a number of synergies with the existing business, - commented on the purchase Boris Dobrodeev, General Director (Russia) of Mail.Ru Group.

I see in this deal the next stage in the development of ESforce and its strengthening in the global market. Esports has always been my passion, and I am glad that the largest Russian Internet holding believes in the prospects of the business that we have built in two years, "said Anton Cherepennikov, director and co-owner of ESforce holding.

The e-sports market is showing steady growth: according to Superdata estimates, in 2018 the global market volume will be about $1.6 billion, and the audience size will reach 300 million users.

After the transaction, Anton Cherepennikov retained the position of head and member of the holding's board of directors.

2017: Buying a 66% stake in SK Gaming

In 2017, the holding acquired a 66% stake in the largest e-sports organization SK Gaming.

2015: Establishment of the Holding Company

In 2015, USM Holdings Alisher Usmanova invested $100 million in the club Virtus.pro. After the deal with USM Holdings, the founder of the Natus Vincere e-sports club Alexander Kokhanovsky and Anton Cherepennikov combined their e-sports assets, creating the ESforce e-sports holding based on the club Virtus.pro.