London-based purpose driven gaming and esports organisation LDN UTD has announced its acquisition by digital sports and gaming investment company Ludus Gaming.
As a result of the new acquisition, Ludus Gaming, which itself was recently bought by NFT game development studio Look Labs, will become the majority shareholder of LDN UTD with Ludus’ Daniel Gee named CEO of LDN UTD.
LDN UTD founder and outgoing CEO, Oliver Weingarten, becomes Chairman while James Sheehan of sport, media and finance group SM22 will join the Board as a non-executive Director.
LDN UTD provides opportunity and accessibility to gamers at a grassroots and competitive level, with a focus on FIFA and League of Legends, and his previously collaborated with the Mayor of London, Rio Ferdinand Foundation, Durham University, Green Man Gaming, content creators, and influencers including co-owner Connor Ball to host virtual and physical events on Twitch to address social issues.
According to a statement, The Camden Centre of Excellence – which has been supported by key partners including Alienware, Dell and HyperX – will continue to host regular community events, and remain a hub for LDN UTD’s education initiative, UTD EDN.
UTD EDN provides a platform for young talent to ‘learn key professional skills to support them on their journey to a career in the esports and gaming sector’.
Oliver Weingarten, Chairman, LDN UTD, said, “I have consistently stated it is imperative that LDN UTD aligns with partners that believe in the values and ethos of LDN UTD, and want to continue to drive it forward, innovating at every opportunity.
“With Ludus, Dan and James, I’m confident we have the right ingredients to fulfil the potential that LDN UTD has shown over the last few years, with a view to scalability, which has been tough to drive forward from an investment perspective in a challenging economic climate.
“There are many people to thank for their support in getting to this stage in the journey, too many to name today, but to the advisors, brands, and stakeholders who have bought into LDN UTD, who have shown trust in LDN UTD, and who have supported me, my sincerest thanks. The biggest thanks however goes to our community.”
Daniel Gee, CEO of LDN UTD, added, “Ludus Gaming was created to push inclusivity in gaming and the ethos of LDN UTD fits perfectly with our purpose.
“We explored lots of acquisitions including other esports orgs but working alongside Olly and the LDN UTD team we knew this would be the perfect fit for our team; leveraging our skills in building long term commercial partnerships and growing brands. We can’t wait to begin the transformation into a global esports education and development community and explore deploying the LDN UTD model worldwide.”
