THE OPPORTUNITY
New technologies are disrupting verticals like never before, including sports, games & entertainment
WHY ESPORTS?
Games and sports are entertaining, that’s why we love to play.
eSports and gaming have a strong growth profile and are considered as “the next big thing” within investing in social infrastructure. Games are the new social media. The next big movie franchise, theme park or toy line will most likely come from games related to eSports.
eSports organizers have long called for the growing activity to be added to the Olympics. Those aspirations got a boost when the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, decided to name eSports as a full medal event.
There are around 2,8 billion active gamers in the world. The global game industry is more than twice the combined size of the worldwide film industry and the recorded music industry.
That's the opportunity, we are investing in.
WHY DENMARK?
Unity, Skype, Just-Eat, Tradeshift... The Nordic countries have the highest number of tech unicorns per capita after Silicon Valley. The Nordics constantly rank at the top of global indexes, including happiness, competitiveness and innovation.
Denmark is a front-runner when it comes to eSports. It was the first country in the world to implement a national eSports strategy to help the growth and development of the industry.
Today, Denmark has some of the worlds best players in games like CS:GO, LoL, FIFA and Dota.
The Danish eSports scene is focused on growing talent. Denmark develops their own talent through schools and clubs where students can practice eSports from a young age - both during school and in their spare time.
That's the opportunity, we are investing in.
Previous Danish Prime Minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, is playing Counter Strike (CS:GO) with Astralis, the Danish World Champions in April, 2019.
WHAT DRIVES THE MARKET FOR ESPORTS?
Gamification is disrupting verticals like never before. The eSports market is not driven only by supply and demand of digital opportunities, it is also driven by significant investments by key market players:
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Content providers are monetizing IPR over longer time horizons with new “games-as-a-service” models driving new income streams via micro-payments and in-game sales (no paywall).
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Established tech players are entering the scene with strategic investments. Amazon has acquired Twitch, a game-streaming company, and Facebook has launched its own cloud gaming service.
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New media channels are facilitating access to a wide range of eSports tournaments and related entertainment. Now content can be viewed and played anytime and anywhere.
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Consumers are demanding new entertainment solutions as the world is entering a new digital reality. 5G networks, VR gear and IoT will accelerate the consumer “pull-effect”.
Commercial ecosystems are being created across the space. Any commercial opportunity generated in the physical sports world, can be replicated in the eSports environment with the addition of big data enabling greater targeting and offering customisation to the fans, consumers and participants.
ESG COMPLIANCE
The combination of eSports, eHealth and eLearning can achieve several of UN’s sustainable development goals, including:
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Health: Well-being with gamification of work-out exercises and daily routines.
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Education: Improved school enrolment and attendance with gamification of curriculum.
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Gender equality: eSports are gender neutral and can promote gender equality, inclusion and respect.
INVESTMENT PROCESS
Our investment process is based on two pillars: A “top-down” market-based assessment of a company’s potential, and a “bottom-up” analysis of its capacity to deliver growth.
Potential target investments undergo a multi-step due diligence and screening process. All steps are safeguarded by our Research and Investment Committees.