FaZe Clan Has Gone Public
FaZe Clan is officially public.
The gaming and lifestyle media platform completed a business combination with B. Riley Principal 150 Merger Corp., a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by B. Riley Financial Inc. Shares of FaZe common stock began trading Wednesday under “FAZE” and “FAZEW” at a valuation of $725 million. Shares opened at $12.98 and dipped to around $9 in mid-day trading.
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The combined company has been renamed FaZe Holdings Inc.
FaZe Clan founders, executive management team members, content creators and e-sports professionals rang the Opening Bell at Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square in New York City.
“This is a landmark event for gaming culture and Gen Z, as FaZe Clan becomes the first Gen Z native brand to go public,” said Lee Trink, FaZe Clan chief executive officer, in a statement. The former president of Capitol Records joined FaZe as an adviser in 2016 before assuming the role of CEO in 2018.
“It provides us the access to capital and global profile to enable our long-term growth objectives, and for the first time gives our fans the opportunity to own a part of our future,” Trink continued. “As this generation rises to economic power and influence, FaZe will continue to use its voice to pioneer and innovate at the intersection of technology, entertainment and culture.”
FaZe first announced the merger agreement in October 2021. The transaction had an implied value of $1 billion, including $275 million of cash, and transaction proceeds of $291 million that would be used for FaZe’s growth strategy. FaZe reported $50 million in 2021 revenue with a $19 million loss, and is forecasting $90 million in revenue in 2022.
The platform has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 2010. Founders FaZe Clipz, FaZe House Cat (later known as FaZe Timid), and FaZe Resistance made a YouTube channel doing trickshots in “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.” Key members FaZe Temperrr, FaZe Banks, FaZe Apex, FaZe Rain, FaZe CBass, FaZe Rug, FaZe Adapt, FaZe Teeqo, FaZe Blaze and FaZe Jev helped propel the crew forward with content, too.
FaZe Clan also competes professionally in a number of video games, and won 35 championships in games such as “Call of Duty,” “Counter-Strike,” “Fortnite” and “Rainbow Six,” among others.
The platform struck gold thanks to a content and merchandise strategy that led to partnerships with McDonalds, Champion, Kappa, M@rket, artist Takashi Murakami, which sold more than $1 million in less than an hour for their first tie-up, and more recently a joint marketing initiative with the NFL.
They’ve also attracted celebrities to their crew to act as members, including athlete Ben Simmons, rapper Offset, Bronny James and this year, Snoop Dogg who sits on the board of directors.
FaZe is seen as an attractive property for their celebrity fan bases, which include children and young adults between the ages 13 to 34, and a network of approximately 500 million fans across their collective social platforms.
Over the years, FaZe has hired fellow music industry veteran Zach Katz as president and chief operating officer, Kai Henry as chief strategy officer, Tammy Brandt as chief legal officer and Jay Richardson as creative director.
The board of directors includes Snoop Dogg; B. Riley Financial chief investment officer Daniel Shribman; WeWork chief financial officer Andre Fernandez; Signum Growth Capital founder and CEO Angela Dalton; Paul Hamilton, co-owner and CEO of Atlanta Esports Ventures; Arena Group chairman and CEO Ross Levinsohn; Mickie Rosen who has board experience at Bank of Queensland, Ascendant Digital Acquisition Corp. and Fabletics; Nick Lewin, chairman of the board for Establishment Labs and General Partner of Crown Predator Holdings, and Bruce Gordon, partner and member of the executive management committee of The ExCo Group and Senior Media Advisor to AlixPartners.
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