Guild Esports set for takeover by investment group DCB Sports

7 August 2024

In many ways, Guild Esports has been trailblazer in terms of esports in UK. The organisation was founded in 2019 and in September 2020 they became the first-ever publicly traded esports organisation on the London Stock Exchange. Just before that, former Manchester United and England superstar David Beckham became a minority shareholder as well, which greatly enhanced their brand, not just in the United Kingdom, but around the world.

Despite some successes in various esports titles and the acquisition of high-profile sponsors, like the £4.5-million deal with Bitstamp back in 2022, Guild never managed to become consistently profitable. In the summer of 2022, they announced staff lay-offs after reporting almost £ 5 million in losses, and the situation did not improve much since then. As a result, Guild shares lost almost 99% of their value since the UK esports organisation went public in 2020. Now, five years after their creation, Guild Esports is set for an acquisition by US-based investment fund DCB Sports.

Partner with possibilities for Guild

While an acquisition price has not been mentioned yet, the structure of the takeover proposal has been published already. DCB Sports would acquire 100% of the assets of Guild Esports and besides that, they would also assume all disclosed liabilities of the organisation. As of today, an agreement has not been reached yet and the parties are currently discussing the terms of a potential deal.

Guild Esports would be DCB Sports’ first venture into the world of esports, but not their first one in the sports world. They are involved in a major 3-vs-3 basketball league founded by rapper Ice Cube, they invested in an upcoming indoor golf club in the San Francisco area together with NBA stars Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, and they are owners of Serie A football club Venezia FC, just to name a few of their projects. Recently, DCB Sports also got involved in TMRW Sports, a new tech-focused venture founded by golfers Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods.

"Esports is the perfect combination of sports, gaming and entertainment”, says Gary LaDrido, Managing Partner at DCB Sports, “We've long followed esports and with Guild we have found the perfect opportunity for us to enter the sector for the first time. We look forward to working with Guild's impressive list of clients as well as building new relationships around the world. We are excited about partnering with Jasmine and management to deliver on its strategy of growing Guild into a leading international media brand."

Considering the financial situation at Guild Esports, Jasmine Skee, CEO at the organization, is naturally happy with the takeover discussions. "The Board is looking to secure the long-term future of Guild Esports, both the PLC and the iconic Guild brand”, she says, “Our deal with DCB Sports is an important step in that direction, as DCB Sports will allow Guild's management to deliver on its strategic aims of building a world-class gaming-led media brand. Further announcements will be made in due course."