Yesterday USM, an investment company controlled by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, announced an investment of “$100 million or more” in Virtus.pro. Launched in 2003, this popular eSports resource organizes multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players.
“eSports are a unique proposition, uniting the sports, media and the internet industries,” stated Ivan Streshinsky, a member of USM Holdings’ board.
“It is a fast-growing market, which has already generated huge interest around the world and Virtus.pro is the leader in the e-sports industry in Russia,” he added.
Covering dozens of disciplines, Virtus.pro claims to embrace “over fifty top sportsmen who have managed to capture gold at top competitions,” and to attract more than 2 million unique users monthly.
The investment will be used by Virtus.pro to launch new tournaments, support new games, create media channels and build new esports arenas, according to Anton Cherepennikov, co-owner.
An Uzbek-born business magnate, Usmanov is Russia’s richest man and the world’s 58th richest person, with a fortune of $14.7 billion, according to a Forbes estimate in January 2015. The assets of USM, his holding company established in 2012, include Metalloinvest, one of the largest global metals and mining companies, MegaFon, a major telecommunications operator in Russia, Mail.Ru Group, the Russian internet and social network leader, and UTH Russia, one of the country’s fastest-growing commercial TV broadcasters. USM is also a limited partner in the DST funds, a prominent global Internet investor with stakes in Alibaba, JD.com, Xiaomi, Spotify, Airbnb, Zalando, Flipkart, ZocDoc and Klarna.
Separately, Usmanov also owns the Kommersant publishing house, a leading business media company in Russia, and holds a stake in Arsenal Football Club.
Usmanov is also famous for his support of fencing and football activities. He is the founder of the Arts, Science and Sports Charity Foundation.
Another Russian oligarch actively investing in startups is Roman Abramovich, who is a shareholder of Moscow-based venture fund Impulse VC as well as of several tech companies in Israel, California and the UK.
