Image: Faze Clan
Faze Clan, one of the biggest esports companies in the world, has officially gone public via a SPAC merger with B. Riley Principal 150 Merger Corp. The deal values Faze at $725 million, according to Axios, which is lower than the original $1 billion valuation from when the merger was announced in October. Faze is now trading on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol FAZE.
Faze is a huge esports and gaming lifestyle brand, and it’s extremely popular with younger audiences — Faze claims that about 80 percent of its audience is between the ages of 13 and 34. It not only has 11 competitive esports teams in games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Fortnite, PUBG, and Valorant but is also associated with some big personalities, including streamers and content creators like NickMercs, rapper Lil Yachty, and even Snoop Dogg, who is on the company’s board of directors. And Faze has expanded beyond gaming with an expansive merch shop where you can buy all sorts of gear adorned with the company’s logo and a studio for original film and TV projects.
But the company has hit some challenges since it was founded in 2010. Faze settled a lawsuit with Twitch streamer Tfue, who was at one point signed with Faze and had alleged that the company had been financially exploiting him. The company also cut ties with former Miami Heat player Meyers Leonard after he used a racial slur during a Twitch stream.
Going forward, Faze has its sights set even further outside of gaming. CEO Lee Trink told The Washington Post that Faze is exploring ideas like gambling, ghost kitchens, and fan clubs and possible partnerships with Web3 companies.