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Modern Times Group has completed the acquisition of Swedish eSports and events organiser DreamHack four months after buying a 74% share in ESL’s parent company.
The seeming monopoly on European eSports organisers has been sealed today after rumours of the DreamHack sale circulated last week.
Final figures for the sale sit at 244m SEK (£55m) MTG paid in July for the controlling share of Turtle Entertainment, parent company of ESL.
DreamHack, alongside ESL, account for all of the organisers for Valve’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Majors tournaments, as well as their Winter and Summer LAN events which attract thousands of gamers to Swedish cities throughout the year.
“This complements our recent investment in ESL, and reinforces our commitment to video gaming as one of the most watched and fastest growing online video categories,” said MTG President and CEO Jørgen Madsen Lindemann. “We are excited about working with DreamHack’s talented team to bring this great entertainment to even larger audiences around the world.”
The move is, understandably, exciting for DreamHack, a company that has moved from strength to strength over a decade after starting out as a Bring Your Own Computer party for the country’s geeks.
“DreamHack is already Sweden’s largest digital festival,” said current CEO Marcus Lindmark. “MTG’s investment will not only enable us to consolidate our position, but also accelerate the international expansion of our festivals across the globe. Our vision is to make DreamHack the festival of choice for Millennials everywhere.”
Lindmark took over as CEO of DreamHack in October of last year, after eight-year owner Robert Ohlén was ousted in a bizarre power coup that saw his 50% controlling share in the company being held from him in a dispute with his father.
MTG are also rumoured to be in talks to create an exclusive CS:GO league with ESL, which would lock top teams into contracts preventing them competing elsewhere, though spokespeople for both companies have declined to comment on the speculation.
