Blue Star Capital plc Dynasty Esports Investment Update (8578Q)

TIDMBLU

RNS Number : 8578Q

Blue Star Capital plc

24 June 2020

24 June 2020

Blue Star Capital plc

("Blue Star" or the "Company")

Dynasty Esports Investment Update

Blue Star Capital plc (AIM: BLU), the investing company with a focus on esports, payments, technology and its applications within media and gaming, is pleased to provide the following update regarding its investee company Dynasty eSports Pte Ltd ("Dynasty").

Dynasty has today announced that it has signed a five year exclusive partnership agreement with Malaysia ESports Federation ("MESF",) via its Kuala Lumpur based subsidiary Dynasty eSports (M) Sdn Bhd, to provide its eSports Portal Management ("EPM") platform to enable effective management and control of the eSports ecosystem within Malaysia.

Dynasty's EPM platform will be fully white-labelled, customised and branded for MESF and will bring together the main elements of the eSports ecosystem being the players, the organisations and the tournaments, under one single integrated digital platform with the intention of providing a shared national and global view of the eSports industry.

Under the terms of the partnership agreement, MESF will actively endorse, promote and drive all eSports related traffic in Malaysia to the EPM platform. MESF will also regulate and ensure that all domestic eSports events, leagues or tournaments in Malaysia will be exclusively hosted on the MESF platform as the single destination site for eSports. Tournaments and leagues attempting to operate outside of the MESF Platform will not be licensed or authorised by MESF which is expected to have the effect of any such event being blocked.

The Malaysian gaming and eSports ecosystem is considered to be one of the more developed markets for eSports. Malaysia is estimated to have over 20 million gamers who spent an estimated RM 2.9 billion (approximately GBP543 million) on gaming in 2019. In November 2019, MESF, together with the Malaysian Government's Ministry of Youth and Sports, publicly launched its 'Strategic Plan for eSports Development 2020 - 2025' via a blueprint which the directors of Dynasty consider has effectively regulated the eSports industry in Malaysia. Additionally, the Ministry of Finance has allocated RM30 million (approximately GBP5.6 million) in its annual budget for investment in the development of eSports in Malaysia.

Dynasty will generate income throughout the term of the partnership via a matrix of revenue streams including management fees, advertising, sponsorship, exclusive eSports broadcast rights (both nationally and internationally), and other revenue share arrangements with MESF.

Blue Star holds 13.7 per cent. of the issued share capital of Dynasty.

Tony Fabrizi, CEO of Blue Star said, "Today's news is potentially transformational for Dynasty, placing it at the forefront of esports developments across Malaysia. The 5 year exclusive agreement will enable Dynasty to derive income from management fees, advertising, broadcast rights and much more. At 13.7% Dynasty is one of Blue Star's largest esports holdings so we look forward to providing shareholders with regular updates as Dynasty's business develops"

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.

For further information, please contact:

 
 Blue Star Capital plc           [phone] 
 Tony Fabrizi 
 
 Cairn Financial Advisers 
  LLP                            [phone] 
 (Nominated Adviser & Broker) 
 Jo Turner / Liam Murray 
 
 

About Blue Star Capital plc

Blue Star is an investing company with a focus on new technologies. Blue Star's investments include a 27.7% holding in SatoshiPay, a payments business using blockchain technology; investments in 6 early stage esports companies with shareholdings ranging from 11% to 18% and a 0.9% investment in Sthaler, an identity and payments technology business which enables a consumer to identify themselves and pay using just their finger.

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June 24, 2020 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)