Gaming app Mobile Premier League (MPL) on Monday said it has acquired Germany-based GameDuell for an undisclosed amount in a bid to enter the European markets.
MPL has also forayed into the mobile free-to-play (F2P) game market with this buyout.
The esports firm will now have a presence spread across Europe, Asia and North America. In July last year, it made its first entry into the US.
“We are excited to expand our operations to Europe after having successfully ventured into Indonesia and the U.S. We believe our collaboration with GameDuell will give us the right strategic support and expertise to take this new journey forward and help us continue to offer exemplary gaming experience for both India and the world,” said Sai Srinivas, Co-Founder and CEO of MPL.
GameDuell , launched in 2003, has a portfolio of over 40 casual online games. The company has secured over $17 million from Acton Capital Partners, Wellington Partners and Burda Digital Ventures.
“We believe the complementary strengths between both teams will enable us to grow our GameDuell games communities even bigger across the world. Given GameDuell’s expertise and experience in the segment coupled with MPL’s global distribution and ambitious vision,” said Kai Bolik, CEO of GameDuell.
Bengaluru-based MPL was founded by Sai Srinivas and Shubh Malhotra in 2018. The esports and skill gaming platform claims to have over 85 million users across India, Indonesia and the US.
In April 2021, MPL acquired Delhi-based GamingMonk and launched Esports Arena. The fantasy sports platform has not only attracted huge investments but has also delivered bumper returns to early investors.
In September, MPL raised Series E funding at a pre-money valuation of $2.3 billion (Rs 16,935 crore) led by Dubai-headquartered private investment firm Legatum Capital, catapulting it to the unicorn club of startups that boast a valuation of at least $1 billion.
For the fiscal year 2020-21 MPL net loss narrowed sharply as the company reported strong growth in revenue for the year.
The online gaming and esports platform, operated by Galactus Funware Technology Pvt Ltd, reported a net loss of Rs 130 crore for FY21, against a net loss of Rs 295 crore for 2019-20, the company’s filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs show.
During the year, the company’s revenue jumped multi-fold to Rs 499 crore from Rs 22.5 crore a year earlier. The company’s revenue from operations, which includes income from the sale of gaming services, rose sharply to Rs 378.6 crore, from Rs 17 crore in FY20.
