Esports organization and gaming lifestyle company FaZe Clan announced a merger with B. Riley Principal 150 Merger Corp. and its intention to be a publicly traded company. The new entity will go public with a share value of approximately $1 billion USD.
FaZe said in its announcement that estimated gross transaction proceeds will total $291M, including $173M in cash from BRPM’s IPO proceeds, and $118M from committed PIPE investments. The organization will use the funds to support growth across multiple industries, including entertainment, gaming, consumer products and more.
Lee Trink, Chief Executive Officer of FaZe Clan, said:
We are thrilled to announce this important milestone of FaZe Clan’s plans to enter the public market. We have evolved from a disruptive content generator to one of the world’s most decorated and successful esports franchises.
FaZe Clan has been around since 2010 when Call of Duty players Eric “CLipZ” Rivera, Jeff “House Cat” Emann (now known as “Timid”) and Ben “Resistance” Christensen started to create content on YouTube. After the success of the trio, the team branched out into esports and gained immense popularity in a short time.
The company has invested in Call of Duty, CS:GO, PubG, Rainbow Six Siege, FIFA, Valorant, Fortnite and Rocket League. It has also invested in mobile esports games like PUBG Mobile and FIFA Online.
The company partners not only with esports and gaming content creators, but also with people like American football player Kyler Murray, NBA basketball player Ben Simmons from Australia, and singer Armando Christian “Pitbull” Pérez.
FaZe CEO Lee Trink will lead the new entity as CEO and Chairman of the Board; Amit Bajaj will serve as Chief Financial Officer; Kai Henry as Chief Strategy Officer; and Tammy Brandt as Chief Legal Officer. Although the merger has been approved by the boards of directors of both FaZe Clan and BRPM, it is still dependent on shareholders and US regulators such as the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
