Tech/BioTech

TGS Esports Closes Acquisition, Secures Proprietary AI Software

TGS Esports (Canada: TGS) (Europe: 5RH) has officially closed the previously announced acquisition of leading competitive platform, Pepper Esports Inc. The deal will include the acquisition of talent, software, and a network established by Pepper in order to advance TGS Esports’ online capabilities. 

At the beginning of 2020, TGS Esports was known as The Gaming Stadium, had an international rollout plan for physical locations, and was on course to become a physical staple of the esports experience... Of course, everything had to change when physical events were barred around the globe. 

Management was able to utilize industry knowledge, existing team members, and tenacity only seen in truly entrepreneurial teams to completely pivot the business and build into an online powerhouse. 

We break down the different elements that this acquisition brings to the table for TGS in the rest of the article; keep reading for all the information in one place. 

TGS – The History 

In terms of esports events, the core competency of the TGS team has historically been tournament and event management. In order to run a successful esports facility, whether online or in-person, you must be able to manage all pieces of the tournament process including partners, sponsors, spectators, and more. When going fully digital, the process becomes even more complex. 

Consider all the businesses that have transformed into work-from-home teams; they’ll have suffered from decreased employee engagement, a feeling of disconnectedness, and a general lack of interest. If TGS was servicing the businesses in this metaphor, it would be the party planning committee that keeps employees engaged, interested, and connected… and most of these committees would simply have given up when most of what they knew was thrown out the window. 

Instead, TGS completely shifted gears, took what they knew about interpersonal interaction, and developed an online ecosystem to achieve its goals. Intimate institutional knowledge about the gaming industry allowed them to make the pivot successfully and now, they’re ready to scale. 

That’s where Pepper comes in.

Organizational Synergies 

Peppers Esports has developed proprietary software that does, well, everything. From connecting fragmented community members and encouraging interaction to helping teams and organizations advertise merchandise and process payments, Pepper has built a one-stop-shop for esports tournaments. 

Instead of only relying on a few, massive tournament organizers to create professional events for engagement, Pepper is helping nurture the esports community by letting them create their own events. Think of this like the NHL vs. Beer League; Pepper has created a peer-to-peer platform to allow hobbyists and general esports enthusiasts to be a part of the action.  

Pepper has utilized a strong technical team to build intelligent software that takes real-time information from tournaments and turns them into features such as competitive player profiles, global leaderboards, and even payments into players’ digital wallets. 

Mixing TGS’ tournament organization experience and industry connections with Pepper’s proprietary software will allow for the continuous development of an online ecosystem that connects gamers regardless of place, skill level, or game preference. 

“The Pepper platform is a core component of our 2021 growth strategy. Organizers and communities previously had to utilize multiple third-party applications to put on a successful event, including TGS, and we are esports event experts.” said Spiro Khouri, CEO of TGS. “With the addition of Pepper, the entire experience can be brought under one roof. This provides tremendous value for our team and any of our partners.”

Terms of the Deal 

Reading the combined company details makes it apparent that these are two strong management teams coming together, which complement one another’s offerings well. In fact, the Pepper management team also has over a decade of combined experience growing and running public companies. To take full advantage of this ability, TGS Esports has welcomed the Pepper team into executive management. 

Guy Halford-Thompson (Chief Executive Officer), Jackson Warren (Chief Product Officer), and Ben Hoffman (Chief Technology Officer) will be transitioning from Pepper executives to TGS executives, with the ability to influence more than just one business unit between the two companies. Guy Halford-Thompson will also be joining the TGS board of directors. 

We’re excited to see where this deal goes, as the team behind TGS becomes stronger as a collective.

Continue Reading the Press Release Below

TGS Esports Announces Completion of the Acquisition of Leading Competitive Esports Platform, Pepper Esports

VANCOUVER, BC, Dec. 21, 2020 /CNW/ – TGS Esports Inc. (“TGS” or the “Company”) (TSXV: TGS) (FRA: 5RH) is pleased to announce that it has completed its previously announced acquisition (the “Acquisition”) of Pepper Esports Inc. (“Pepper”), a next generation competitive esports platform. As part of the Acquisition, the Pepper executive team, Guy Halford-Thompson, Jackson Warren and Ben Hoffman, who have a decade of combined experience in growing early-stage companies in the public markets, joined the TGS executive team, and Guy Halford-Thompson will join the TGS board of directors. 

With the acquisition complete, TGS adds a next generation online platform to their esports tournament and event expertise. This all-in-one offering allows any individual, brand, or school to create and manage player communities, spectators, sponsors, and brands—all in one place. 

“The Pepper platform is a core component of our 2021 growth strategy. Organizers and communities previously had to utilize multiple third-party applications to put on a successful event, including TGS, and we are esports event experts.” said Spiro Khouri, CEO of TGS. “With the addition of Pepper, the entire experience can be brought under one roof. This provides tremendous value for our team and any of our partners.” 

Pepper has just launched its live Beta (pepper.gg) with select customers. Additional features are being rolled out on the Pepper platform over the next few months, with Pepper’s full launch expected in Q1 2021. 

“Now the acquisition is complete we can accelerate our development of the Pepper platform to address the increased interest we are seeing from clients.” said Guy Halford-Thompson, CEO of Pepper Esports. “As a single, unified team, we are able to offer a full suite of services from integrated streaming to full event management sets us apart from other platforms.” 

A short video overview of the Pepper platform can be viewed here: Pepper – A Next Generation Esports Platform.

Read the Full Press Release Here. 

Disclaimer: TGS Esports is a communications client of Edge Investments, and we own shares in the company. 

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