Ninjas in Pyjamas complete merger with ESV5 and form NIP Group

The famous Swedish esports organization, Ninjas in Pajamas, or NiP, has announced its merger with ESV5 ESPORTS GROUP CO., a Chinese esports organization, as they are popularly known to form a new entity called NIP Group.

Thanks to this merger, NiP Group now enters the Chinese market to officially join the 2023 League of Legends Pro League (LPL). In addition to this, there will also be much more support for events and entertainment production.

NIP Group

The entity’s new president, combined with NIP Group, is Mario Ho, the current president of ESV5. In addition, Hicham Chahine, CEO of NIP, will become co-CEO of NIP Group but will continue his duties with the Swedish organization.

There is no doubt that with this merger, NIP Group will expand all of its overseas businesses. In addition, it will become a global e-sports group covering the Chinese, European, and Latin American markets.

This merger had previously been announced in the summer of 2021. But due to how complicated and extensive it would be, it was just completed a few hours ago. This merger has been done through share swaps, but the financial details of the union have not been disclosed.

This new entity will be in charge of managing a large number of esports teams and franchises, as well as other brands related to content production.

ESV5

ESV5 owns MAG Studio, a company in charge of producing events, and eStar Entertainment, an esports talent agency. These companies mentioned above will join Shinobi, the company that NIP has with Aser Ventures.

Undoubtedly, this is one of the most significant mergers in the esports industry. On top of that, it signifies NiP’s long-awaited arrival in the League of Legends Pro League, as we mentioned earlier.

Mario Ho, president of NIP Group, said:

“ESV5 and NIP have been in contact and talks since 2020, and we are delighted with the union. NIP has been an esports brand for over 20 years, with very high-quality brand assets that help us commit to becoming a more popular and valuable global digital esports group. Both parties will make the most of the complementary advantages and sharing of resources and fully open up NIP Group’s international readiness.”

For his part, Hicham Chahine, co-CEO of NIP Group, noted:

“We are incredibly excited to complete our merger whereby NIP Group is established finally. Our complementary strengths will help us reach a much wider esports and gaming audience on an unrivaled global scale. It all starts today, in the LPL and beyond. We can now officially say that we are the first global esports organization.”

About NIP

Ninjas in Pajamas is one of the most legendary organizations in the professional esports scene. It was founded in June 2000 and currently has competitive teams in the top ranks of CS:GO, Rainbow Six: Siege, VALORANT, and FIFA.

Now under the name NIP Group and operating brands such as Ninjas in Pyjamas and eStar Gaming, the organization has over 40 million followers on social media worldwide.

NIP Group will be headquartered in Wuhan and Shenzhen, China. But have offices in Stockholm, Sweden, and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Header: NIP Group