Finest announced that it has acquired Monaco Esports for $10 million. Announced on March 14, the acquisition is part of the international expansion strategy laid out by Israeli Finest, founded by Ruvik Milkis in 2019. Finest’s chairman of the board, Mark Klein, said global plans to enter the Monaco market are only “stepping stones”.
Klein joined Finest in late 2020, when media company RadarZero, of which he is CEO, secured a majority stake in the organization. Over the past decade, the investment group he is a part of has invested close to half a billion dollars in multiple gaming projects, including GameSquare, Enthusiast Gaming, and FaZe Clan.
Klein explained that RadarZero was created with the aim of making more money from the group’s gaming investments through solutions such as advertising and marketing technologies. The aim is to build organic bridges between various operations to create a sustainable esports business model. When the global health crisis began in 2020, Klein looked for opportunities to expand the portfolio of the company in Israel, where he had lived for 20 years, and to help develop a project close to him.
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Finest has secured the organization’s esports and content capabilities by acquiring Monaco Esports. But more importantly, they received full authorization to operate in the principality thanks to Ducruet, the son of Princess Stéphanie of Monaco and Daniel Ducruet.
The acquisition of Monaco Esports represents just one step in a series of big moves by Finest over the past year. In June 2021, Finest hired Amir Vahab as Vice President of Sales and Business Development. Since then, the organization has partnered with a number of major companies, including food giants Pizza Hut and blockchain firm Tezos.
Before the end of the year, Finest recruited former Israeli Football Association CEO Rotem Kamer to its organization. With a monetization path rooted in Monaco that goes beyond just sponsorships, Finest will soon start looking into other markets to expand into the esports space.
Klein points to Latin America and Southeast Asia as two regions he’s eyeing. As an international organization with ambitions that extend far beyond the borders of Israel, Finest aims to build stronger competitive rosters and a team of content creators around which a dedicated fan base can rally and cheer.
