Group One Holdings, the parent company of ONE Championship and ONE Esports, has closed a US$150 million equity financing round led by two new global investors. Guggenheim Investments and Qatar Investment Authority join other blue-chip institutional investors in the firm, adding a boost to ONE’s global growth strategy.
The company is continuing to diversify its content offerings to bring the stories of sports heroes to an even wider audience and expand outside Asia to increase viewership globally.
“Our successful fundraising is a testament to the power and reach of our once-in-a-generation global sports platform. We are thrilled to be partnering with two of the world’s most prominent and savvy investors, Guggenheim Investments and Qatar Investment Authority, as we continue to accelerate our strategy to bring our engaging content to more people around the world. We are deeply proud of ONE’s achievements in 2021, including delivering record revenues, and we look forward to achieving more milestones in the new year,” said Hua Fung Teh, Group President of ONE.
Gearing up for 2022
ONE is positioning itself for significant growth opportunities in 2022. A new partnership with streaming juggernaut Netflix is set to bring the first season of The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition to over 150 countries in the first quarter of 2022.
In addition, the massively successful ONE: Empower event last September broke new ground as the first all-female mixed martial arts tournament held by a major global martial arts organization. The hotly anticipated ONE Esports Dota 2 Major held the same year attracted 274 million viewers, the third most-watched event for a Dota 2 Major ever.
“ONE has quickly established itself as one of the most valuable global sports platforms, and we have been impressed with what the Company’s forward-thinking management team continues to deliver. ONE’s powerful platform and strong fan base are unique advantages as it accelerates its global expansion strategy – and we are excited to help the Company capture the incredible opportunities that lie ahead,” said Scott Minerd, Scott Minerd, Chairman of Guggenheim Investments and Global Chief Investment Officer of Guggenheim Partners.
ONE Championship and ONE Esports together make up Asia’s largest global sports media platform. In June 2020, Nielsen ranked ONE Championship as one of the top 10 sports properties in the world in terms of viewership and engagement, putting it in the same company as hugely popular properties like the NBA and NFL.
