FAST NEWS: NIP Group wins esports race to market with Nasdaq listing

The Latest: Esports company NIP Group Inc. (NIPG.US) priced the American depositary shares (ADS) for its Nasdaq IPO at $9 to sell 2.25 million ADSs. It further exercised its option to sell an additional 182,526 ADSs.

Looking Up: The offering makes NIP Group one of the world’s largest publicly listed esports companies with a market value of about $500 million.

Take Note: NIP Group previously set a price range of $9 to $11 for its ADSs.

Digging Deeper: NIP Group was formed last year through a merger between Sweden’s Ninjas in Pyjamas and China’s ESV5, parent of eStar Gaming. The company had about 16 million followers worldwide at the end of last year, and said it aimed to become “a global comprehensive digital sports group covering the Chinese, European and South American markets.” It had earned 57 championship wins in tier-one competitions and competed across nine leagues in seven esports titles by the end of last year. NIP Group and its peers are chasing a global esports market that was worth $52.6 billion in 2021, and is expected to grow 12.1% annually to reach $102 billion in 2027. The company is led by Chairman and co-CEO Mario Ho, who was ESV5’s former chief and comes from one of Macau’s most prominent business families; and co-CEO Hicham Chahine, who was formerly Ninjas in Pyjamas chief. The company’s revenue grew 27% last year to $83.7 million, while its gross profit nearly doubled to $7.2 million.

Market Reaction: NIP’s American depositary rose slightly on their first trading day last Friday, then shot up 83% on Monday to close at $16.50, making it one of the best performing recent IPOs on the Nasdaq.

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Reporting by Doug Young