According to a recent report by Reuters, the legendary Swedish organization has agreed to merge with Chinese group ESV5, which notably owns LPL Team eStar Gaming and streaming platform DouYu.

Update (August 10): NiP has officially announced its merger with ESV5.

According to a recent report by Reuters, the legendary Swedish organization has agreed to merge with Chinese group ESV5, which notably owns LPL Team eStar Gaming and streaming platform DouYu. The NiP ESV5 merger will happen via an equity swap to create a new entity that could be listed on the US Stock Exchange by the end of the year.

The merged entity would be the first esports team to be floated on NASDAQ and projects a combined revenue of more than $60 Million. This comes days after NIP announced its multi-year partnership with Razer.

NIP recently completed the signing of device.
NIP recently completed the signing of device.

This news could also explain NIP's recent Asian-themed re-branding and their record signing of Nikolai "device" Reedtz. For the Swedish organization, this move could allow for an expansion into the rapidly growing Chinese esports scene, which could open up new opportunities with over 380 Million Chinese Viewers and access a larger pool of resources to help their various teams.

For ESV5, this merger gives them ownership over a number of highly ranked teams in a variety of games and a connection to the Swedish brand that has over 2 decades of history. NIP's Counter-Strike team is the most well-known and has always been a competitive force in the game, currently in the top 5 teams in the world. Their Brazilian Rainbow Six team recently won the Rainbow Six: Siege Invitational and became world champions in the game. The organization also has rosters in Valorant and FIFA.

NIP Secured The Trophy at R6: Siege Invitational
NIP Secured The Trophy at R6: Siege Invitational

Alongside ESV5's League of Legends team eStar Gaming, this move would mean that the Chinese group has rosters in almost all top-tier esports alongside growing properties like FIFA and Honor of Kings, Tencent's recent hit mobile game. Overall the NiP ESV5 merger is a huge move for both organizations and will help them grow in both markets.

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