San Clemente-based Mobile Global Esports Inc. has filed for a public listing to operate games on mobile telephones geared towards university competitions in India.
Chief Executive Dave Pross said he hopes the initial public offering, which could raise around $16 million, can take place in the first half of this year now that the proposal has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Our position in the marketplace with the universities is great,” Pross told the Business Journal on Dec. 31. “We’re cautiously optimistic.”
The company’s management said it has experience in the esports business and has contracted for consulting services with Sports Industry of India Inc., which it says has promoted and operated 27 esports tournaments in India since last May. Those events reached more than 450,000 viewers, the company said.
Mobile Global Esports, also known as MOGO, initially will be focused on esports games and competitions played on mobile devices by university teams and players representing universities located in India and elsewhere in South Asia.
“MOGO has been created to develop and commercialize international esports, beginning with university esports events in India,’’ the company told the SEC.
Pross explained that the predominant way of playing esports in Asia is by mobile phone.
With better iPhones and access to Wi-Fi, “it’s really inexpensive in India. That’s become the predominant way of doing it.”
“The players are playing on their devices,” he said.
No Revenue
Mobile Global Esports may have a long and difficult road ahead.
“The risks of operating as an American company in India are an issue for every foreign investor,” according to the firm’s filing with the SEC. Â
Because the Mobile Global Esports concept is new for universities in India and “may not resonate” with target audiences, the company told the SEC that “we may not generate sufficient viewership to attract advertisers and increase the value of the media rights we intend to develop and promote.”
As of Nov. 1, the company did not have any full-time employees, but had retained “18 unpaid consultants and contributors” on a part-time basis. Â
Its S-1 filing lists no revenue, saying its operations have been financed by the sale of equity securities in private placements. It had almost $315,000 in cash as of Aug. 31.
Former NFL Star
The company’s investors include former National Football League star quarterback Kurt Warner, a two-time league Most Valuable Player, who will have a post-offering stake of 5.6% through the Kurt & Brenda Warner Revocable Trust, according to the SEC filing.
CEO Pross says India is a “fabulous market” though he acknowledges that it is also a “tough market.”
“You’ve got to work at it and be smart about it,” according to Pross.
The company will have its business office in San Clemente, but “the actual operations will be in India,” Pross said.
It plans to hire five salaried employees in finance, control and reporting in the U.S. and 11 in India. The Indian team is planned to grow to 19.
The expected public offering price of each share of common stock is $6, according to the SEC filling. The company, founded in March of last year, expects to trade under the symbol MOGL.
The offering is expected to bring in $5 million or more in proceeds for the company, plus a similar amount for selling shareholders.
Esports Wave
The esports wave—especially in-person competition—has already been making its mark elsewhere in Orange County.
The ESports Arena company moved to Irvine from Downtown Santa Ana in June. Its new office at 14988 Sand Canyon Ave., currently serves as the company headquarters and broadcast facility. Esports Arena has been looking for a new facility to open to the public.
In September, UCI Esports celebrated its five-year anniversary. UCI established the first college esports program at a public university in 2016. Â
Allied Esports Entertainment Inc., an operator of venues and live events for video gaming enthusiasts, has said it’s planning to get out of the esports business, including a sale of its best-known property, the HyperX arena in Las Vegas.
One purchase candidate backed out in November. Allied Esports said Jan. 3 it had engaged the Benchmark Company to serve as its exclusive financial adviser in connection with a potential business combination transaction.Â
