Egyptian Esports Platform GBarena Acquires Tunisian Galactech for $15M

GBarena, an Egypt-based esports platform, has acquired Tunisian gaming startup Galactech in a share swap deal worth an estimated $15 million.

This acquisition is part of GBarena’s growth expansion in the GCC, which includes Saudi Arabia. By entering the North African market, GBarena will be able to further expand the esports market in the Middle East and leverage Galactech’s presence in Riyadh, Dubai and Tunisia.

Founded in 2016 by Mustafa Zaza and Bishoy Mesdary, GBarena is a gaming community platform that connects gamers with tournament organisers.

“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,” Samer Wagdy, CEO of GBarena, tells StartupScene. “This acquisition is one step forward toward achieving the company’s vision, which is to be the leading aggregator in MENA, serving all stakeholders in the industry.”

The acquisition comes at a time when GBarena is preparing to close its Series A round later this year, with participation from investors in the U.S, Singapore, and the Middle East and North Africa.

To date, GBarena has almost 700,000 users across 27 countries, with strong presence in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE.The company is also currently valued at $45 million.

Looking to the future, GBarena is eyeing more acquisition opportunities, particularly in the areas of gaming, Web3 and AI.

Meanwhile, Galactech, which was founded in 2019, has become a popular gaming platform in North Africa, with over 200,000 active users. This is the second Tunisian acquisition to take place this month, after BioNTech’s $686.5 million acquisition of Instadeep.