In $15 M share exchange deal, Egyptian e-sports platform GBarena acquired Galactech

In a share transaction for US $15 million, the Tunisian company Galactech was bought by Egyptian upstart GBarena, the top Middle Eastern e-sports platform.

GBarena, a company founded in 2016 by Mustafa Zaza and Bishoy Mesdary, intends to build an online gaming community by bringing together players and tournament organizers and giving them access to a platform where they can fully automate the management of their tournaments.

Contrarily, Houcem Maiza and Houssem Zouaghi created Galactech in 2019 and it currently has over 200,000 active users. Its purchase boosts GBArena’s aims to grow in the Middle Eastern esports market as well as its plans to enter the GCC, especially Saudi Arabia. GBarena will make use of Galactech’s skills and on-the-ground presence in Tunisia, Dubai, and Riyadh.

With involvement from investors in the US, Singapore, and the MENA region, the $15 million share swap transaction represents a significant milestone for GBarena as it prepares to close its Series A later this year.

“Our goal has always been to provide our users with an unparalleled e-sports experience, no matter where they’re located in the world. With our acquisition of Galactech, we can now ensure that our users from North Africa will have access to identical features and content they have come to expect from us while providing them with extensive opportunities for growth and development within the esports community,” GBarena CEO Samer Wagdy said.

“We’re very happy to be taking a step forward to fulfill the vision we started embarking on the journey with. Under GBArena’s ownership, Galactech will be able to tap into both GBArena’s established user base and resources to strengthen its presence in the region,” said Houcem Maiza, Galactech’s CEO, who will be joining GBArena as Co-CEO.