Group ONE Holdings, Asia’s largest global sports media platform.
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roup ONE Holdings, Asia’s largest global sports media platform and 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, the global asset management and investment advisory division of Guggenheim Partners, and Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).
The two mega entities joined other blue-chip institutional investors in the company.
The new investment will support ONE’s global growth strategy, which includes diversifying its content offerings to continue to unleash the potential of ONE’s live sports and general entertainment businesses, and further expand outside Asia to reach a broader audience and increase viewership globally.
“Our successful fundraising is a testament to the power and reach of our once-in-a-generation global sports platform,” said Hua Fung Teh, group president of ONE, in a statement.
“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,” he added.
ONE takes pride as Asia’s largest global sports media platform that celebrates the continent’s greatest cultural phenomena – martial arts and gaming – and the deep-rooted values of integrity, humility, honor, respect, courage, discipline and compassion.
In June 2021, Nielsen ranked ONE Championship as one of the top-10 sports properties in the world in terms of viewership and engagement, alongside other popular and established global properties such as the NBA and NFL.
The Nielsen report found that ONE Championship had the highest follower growth globally, ranked fourth in total video views across major digital channels (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube), was in the top three in cumulative reach, and top 10 by broadcast hours during the pandemic in 2020.
Scott Minerd, chairman of Guggenheim Investments and global chief investment officer of Guggenheim Partners, said that “ONE has quickly established itself as one of the most valuable global sports platforms.”
“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,” he added.
Guggenheim Investments is the global asset management and investment advisory division of Guggenheim Partners with more than $259 billion in total assets across fixed income, equity, and alternative strategies.
Meanwhile, QIA is the sovereign wealth fund of the state of Qatar, which was founded in 2005 to invest and manage the state reserve funds. QIA is among the largest and most active sovereign wealth funds globally.
ONE’s latest equity financing round reflects the strong momentum the Company has generated as it positions itself for significant opportunities in 2022.
This includes ONE’s new partnership with Netflix where the first season of The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition will premiere in over 150 countries on Feb. 1, and the company’s highly successful ONE: Empower in September 2021, which was the first all-female mixed martial arts event ever held by a major global martial arts organization.
Also last year, ONE Esports hosted the iconic ONE Esports Dota 2 Singapore Major, which attracted 274 million viewers, making it the third-most watched event for a Dota 2 Major ever.
Watch ONE: ONLY THE BRAVE on Jan. 28, on the ONE Super App and subscribe to ONE Championship on YouTube!
This article is a collaboration with ONE Championship
