LONDON | MAY 29, 2020 – Drake Star Partners is pleased to announce the release of our first Drake Star Deal Insights publication - an exclusive Q&A with the CEO of BLAST, Robbie Douek, who provides an inside perspective on the Company’s recent growth equity capital raise. In this interview we cover what his biggest learnings were, how the COVID-19 global pandemic impacted his process, and what the future holds for BLAST - building the Company’s technology platform, cementing commercial relationships, and growing in a sustainable way.

BLAST, a leading global esports media network, announced the closing of its growth equity capital raise from a consortium of venture capital and private investors on May 14, 2020. Drake Star Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to BLAST and its shareholders. The fundraise was led by Kasper Kruse Petersen (Partner) and Eric Ward (Partner) of Drake Star Partners.

The deal represents a landmark transaction for Drake Star Partners in the esports / sports tech space. We recently published our Global Sports Technology sector report as we look to leverage our expertise to assist current and future clients navigate this rapidly growing space.

Q&A SNAPSHOT

Kasper Kruse Petersen, Partner at Drake Star Partners said: COVID-19 has caused many fundraise processes to be put on hold. BLAST, specifically, adapted extremely well to the changing environment early on. What do you think was the key to get this capital raise over the line? Up until COVID-19, a large part of your revenue streams came from 7 global events that BLAST held around the world - was this a major concern for investors and how did you adapt your strategy?

Robbie Douek, CEO at BLAST said: COVID-19 demonstrated the viability of our proposition. We have moved our events online and increased our output, entered a new title in Dota 2, and we are planning for our next round of arena events. Our ability to do this quickly demonstrated that we hold an intrinsic value to broadcasters as we were able to provide them with live sport. Moving forward we will always be able to present different options of product, whether it be arena, studio, online or across our entertainment platforms. COVID-19 has taught us how to do this and manage our business through a challenging period.

About BLAST

We are BLAST - the global esports media network delivering world class entertainment experiences. Whether it be intimate broadcast studio shows, arena events, digital platforms or top-class multi-platform content, we create the most exciting, exhilarating and euphoric moments in esports. Make sure you check out BLAST Premier; our worldwide Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament where the best teams and brightest stars are fighting it out for a $4.25m total prize pool. Broadcast around the world in 100 territories to over 150m households, find out more on BLASTPremier.com.

About Drake Star Partners’ Global Sports Tech

Report Drake Star Partners released its first report on the Global Sports Technology sector in which we share our knowledge and sector expertise in the space. The report provides a detailed analysis on the sports tech sector including a dedicated section discussing the underlying trends driving the rapid expansion of esports. The report also features exclusive Q&As with leading industry figures, including Robbie Douek, CEO of BLAST, M&A and fundraising stats, a detailed sector map as well as profiles on nearly 80 of the most innovative sports tech companies. The report was co-authored by Greg Bedrosian (CEO and Managing Partner) and Eric Ward (Partner) of Drake Star Partners and can be downloaded here.

About Drake Star 

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