GameSquare can now add the likes of NickMercs and FaZe Swagg to their list of content creators as a result of their acquisition of FaZe Clan.
FaZe Clan, the often controversial North American esports team, has been acquired by GameSquare, concluding a financial struggle that has seen its share price plummet and speculation about its future. GameSquare, who also own Complexity Gaming, will be purchasing the FaZe brand in an arm's length all-stock transaction.
The acquisition, which is currently pending shareholder approval, stands as the largest merger between two Esports organizations. As per the arm's length acquisition, FaZe Clan will continue to operate as an independant entity under the GameSquare umbrella. GameSquare's CEO Jack Kenna had the following to say about the acquisition in the corresponding press release.
"The gaming community represents one of the largest and most engaged segments of the attention economy," Kenna said . "The acquisition of one of the biggest names in gaming serves as a perfect illustration of how we have built a powerful infrastructure with expansive scale that we can use to leverage the full spectrum of resources within the GameSquare ecosystem."
FaZe Clan founders placed back in control by GameSquare
As a result of the merger, FaZe's founders Richard "FaZe Banks" Bengston, Thomas "FaZe Temperrr" Oliveira and Yousef "FaZe Apex" Abdelfattah have been restored to the helm of the organization. With Banks being designated as FaZe's CEO, Temperrr as the company president and Apex as the COO respectively.
"I'm confident that with Tommy, Apex and me back in charge of the brand, FaZe Clan will get back to where it was in its' peak years," Banks said. "We grew up on the internet and understand this brand better than anyone ever could. We are grateful to have found a partner in GameSquare who sees that value in us and can help execute our vision."
FaZe Clan's current interim CEO Christoph Palcher also took a moment to talk about the merger. "Joining forces with GameSquare creates greater scale and exciting opportunities in the emerging market for gaming and youth culture" said Pachler.
Key takeaways from the GameSquare acquisition
Aside from FaZe's founders regaining control of their of the organization, the GameSquare acquitions leads to a number of significant outcomes. With the most notable being that GameSquare now employs several of the biggest content creators under one umbrella. Through Complexity they already had the likes of Ninja and TimTheTatman. Now, thanks to the FaZe acquisition, they can also add NickMercs, FaZe Swagg, FaZe Rug to their content lineup.
The merger also means that both organizations will be pooling together their pre-existing brand partners together. With the likes of Porsche, Nike, Jack in the Box, and Xfinity making up their bulging portfolio. Which will lead to a massive increase in growth potential in terms of GameSquare's product offerings. All of which means that GameSquare now stand as one of, if not, the biggest entities in esports and gaming.
But the acquisition also brings into question the competitive integrity of a half dozen esports leagues. GameSquare are now the parent company of both FaZe and Complexity, who compete against each other in Counter-Strike, FIFA, Rocket League, Halo, Apex Legends, and Fortnite. A single entity owning multiple teams in a league a textbook conflict of interest and rife for exploitation.