David Beckham's esports company hopes to raise £20M ($26M) by listing its shares on the London Stock Exchange as it "bids to become a leading force in the booming industry." Guild Esports "plans to set up and field dedicated teams to compete in four online games -- Fortnite, CS:Go, Rocket League and FIFA." The team said it was "aiming to create a training and scouting infrastructure" modeled on EPL talent academies. Guild Esports is aiming for a valuation of £5M ($6.5M). According to figures given by Guild, by '19 eSports "had a total of 443 million viewers, with the market projected to grow to 646 million viewers" by '23. The market is projected to be worth an estimated $1.1B this year, and $1.55B by '23 (AFP, 9/9).
Guild Exec Chair Carleton Curtis believes that esports will "come to be dominated by an exclusive group of professional teams." Guild plans to "invest in a scouting network and training academy for gamers." Curtis, a former Activision Blizzard exec, said, "It’s going to take a lot of capital to get us there but we’re confident we can be in that conversation in a matter of years" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 9/9).
