Esports and gaming organization FaZe Clan has announced its plans to go public through a merger that will value the company as a whole at around $1 billion.
The merger is with a blank check company called B. Riley Principal 150 Merger Corp — essentially a company that is founded and raises money specifically for the purpose of merging with or being acquired by another company. As a part of the merger, BRPM will pay an estimated $291 million to FaZe, which will be used to fund its ongoing global growth efforts —including potential future acquisitions. BRPM will change its name to FaZe Holdings Inc, and the combined company will trade under the ticker symbol FAZE.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022 and will see FaZe CEO Lee Trink remain in his role in addition to becoming chairman of the board.
FaZe Clan, begun in 2010 as a Call of Duty team, now purports to have a combined social media reach of over 350 million across both its own channels as well as its network of content creators. Its esports teams span games such as Call of Duty, Counter-Strike, PUBG, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, FIFA, Valorant, Fortnite, and Rocket League, and its brand has expanded across online gaming, lifestyle products, sport merchandise, and other various digital content offerings.
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.
This article was amended after publication with the correct abbreviation for B. Riley Principal 150 Merger Corp.