Grace Ashiru
Although the value of Galactech was not disclosed, GBarena was estimated to be about $45 million. The e-sports platform advertises that it has over 650,000 users across 27 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates.
GBarena was founded by Samer Wagdy and Mustafa Zaza. GBarena was established in 2015 with the intention of uniting all e-sport participants in the MENA region and worldwide by Samer Wagdy and Mustafa Zaza. GBarena takes pride in being the region’s first e-sports platform.
According to Wagdy, CEO of GBarena, “This acquisition is one step towards fulfilling the company’s objective, which is to be the premier aggregator in MENA, serving all players in the industry.”
By utilizing the already established commercial railroads of Galactech, it is hoped that this acquisition will help GBarena strengthen its position in Riyadh, Dubai, and Tunisia. Houcem Maiza, co-CEO of GBarena and the previous founder and CEO of Galactech, claims that Galactech will be able to benefit from GBarena’s extensive user base and resources in order to expand its footprint in the region.
Galactech was established in 2016 with 200,000 active users and $1.5 million raised over three rounds from OTF, OQAL angels, and the Tunisian Younis Family Office.
GBArena, a group of eight-year-olds, has raised $700,000 over the course of two fundraising rounds, an unexpected third round, and an undisclosed contribution from the Egyptian Ministry of Communication. These monies were provided by La French Tech and AUC Angel. Forbes states that the Series A fundraising round for GBarena is expected to be completed later this year.
The COVID-19 lockdown’s involvement has caused the gaming industry to flourish astronomically during the last three years. According to a study by Research and Markets, the mobile gaming market is predicted to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 12.6% between 2021 and 2026. The MENA region’s gaming market is anticipated to reach $5 billion by 2025, up 19% from 2019, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE exhibiting the strongest growth rates.
GBarena claims that it has intentions to acquire additional gaming studios and platforms, especially those engaged in Web3 and AI.
This is the second officially publicized merger and acquisition (M&A) this month in Africa and the second for Tunisia and the Maghreb area following BioNTech’s acquisition of Instadeep for $686.5 million.
