Monday will bring an initial public offering that might actually excite the kids. That’s when Denmark-based Astralis Group will become the first pure-play e-sports team to go public, with a ticker of ASTRGRP. If that means nothing to you, consult your nearest 20-something.
E-sports, or competitive videogaming, is riding a wave of younger viewers increasingly attractive to advertisers in a world of cord-cutting and aging sports audiences. Market research firm Newzoo estimates e-sports revenue at more than $1.1 billion in 2019. ESPN recently reported that a franchise slot in one of the biggest games, League of Legends, sold for $33 million. Newzoo e-sports chief, Remer Rietkerk, notes that Astralis has unique brands for its three teams: Astralis, playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive; Origen with League of Legends; and Future FC with FIFA. Its Counter-Strike team is among the world’s best, while Origen owns one of the 10 franchise league slots in Europe.
Venture-capital investors and traditional sports owners are moving in. But Astralis CEO Nikolaj Nyholm tells Barron’s its investments in league slots need to last beyond a 10-year VC life cycle. “The public market allows us ample opportunity to raise funds and for our investors to come and go as they see fit, without my co-founder and I being forced to sell our shareholding,” he says.
Will Hershey, CEO of Roundhill Investments, which sponsors an e-sports exchange-traded fund, says investors are watching to see how the market values Astralis. Astralis has set a price of 8.95 Danish Krone a share, or $1.33, a valuation of $75.5 million.
Next Week
Monday 12/9
Chewy,
Vail Resorts
,
Thor Industries
,
China Online Education Group
and Stitch Fix release financial results for their most
recent quarter.
Tuesday 12/10
The National Federation of Independent Business releases its Small Business Optimism Index for November. Consensus estimates are for a 103.1 reading, compared with October’s 102.4.
Toll Brothers
, Francesca’s Holdings,
AutoZone
,
HD Supply Holdings
,
GameStop
, and
Dave & Buster’s
Entertainment host earnings conference calls.
Wednesday 12/11
American Eagle Outfitters
,
lululemon athletica
,
Vera Bradley
, and Photronics announce their latest financial results.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics
reports the consumer price index for November. Expectations are for a 2% year-over-year rise, compared with October’s 1.8% gain. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is seen rising 2.3%, the same as October.
The Federal Open Market Committee announces its decision on interest rates following its two-day meeting. The FOMC cut interest rates three times this year and has signaled that it wouldn’t reduce them further unless the economy slowed sharply.
LendingTree,
Home Depot
, and American Water Works host investor and analyst conferences.
Thursday 12/12
Adobe
,
Ciena
,
Oracle
,
Broadcom
, Vince Holding, and
Costco Wholesale
host earnings conference calls.
The BLS releases the producer price index for November. Economists forecast a 1.2% year-over-year gain. The core PPI is expected to jump 1.7%. This compares with respective 1.1% and 1.6% annual gains in October.
MetLife
holds an investor conference in New York.
Friday 12/13
The Census Bureau reports seasonally adjusted retail sales for November. Consensus estimates are for a 0.5% gain, compared with a 0.3% rise in October. Excluding autos and gas, retail sales are expected to rise 0.4% after a 0.1% gain in October.
Centene hosts an investor meeting in New York.
The Census Bureau releases Business Inventories for October. Look
for a seasonally adjusted 0.2% rise.
The BLS releases export and import data for November. Imports are expected to rise 0.2% after a 0.5% fall
in October. Exports are seen rising 0.1% after falling 0.1% in October.
Write to Connor Smith at connor.smith@barrons.com
