Three years ago, the Swedish e-sports company G-Loot raised significant amounts from heavy investors such as Swedbank Robur. Despite this, the company never really managed to get its business off the ground and has struggled with heavy losses. Now the owners have taken the difficult decision to put the business into bankruptcy.
"We have done absolutely everything we can to find a solution," says CEO Johan Persson.
Unfortunately, the business idea proved not to be sustainable. In early 2023, the platform was relaunched under the new Stryda brand. The main difference was that users no longer competed for real money but rather glory or prizes inside the games.
Now, barely a year later, reaches Struggle its end. The owners have made the decision to put the company into bankruptcy, and this is confirmed by CEO Johan Persson.
“Of course it is heavy. We had to face reality; the market is not there in the same way, and investors' risk appetite is at record lows. We have done everything we can to find a solution, but now the board saw that there was no way to create more shareholder value by continuing to invest, so they decided to pull the plug,” he says.
The company has largely had zero revenue, and during the first three quarters this year the operating losses amounted to a total of SEK 62.3 million. At the end of September, only SEK 23 million remained in the cash register.
In June, the owners of G-Loot decided to investigate the possibility of raising external financing from new investors or selling the entire company. Johan Persson says that the company has worked with UBS in this process, but unfortunately it did not lead to any success.
“We have presented the case to over 100 financial and strategic investors and buyers. We got very far with some, and we have always felt that it was close. But this week we received a no in a lengthy process, which led to the board making this decision."
Formally speaking, it is the subsidiary Stryda AB which is now no longer financed by the owners and is going bankrupt, while the parent company G-Loot Global Esports AB, which currently has no actual business, will continue to exist.
"The platform and the approximately 45 employees are located in the subsidiary", explains Johan Persson and expresses his appreciation for "all the hard work that the employees have put in".
When the bankruptcy formally begins, a bankruptcy trustee will try to realize as much value as possible, for example by selling the assets of Stryda. It could potentially act as a relief for the owners of the parent company.
“We have a technically advanced and well-functioning platform, as well as a significant user base. I believe that there is great value in the company, but at the same time there must be a buyer on the other side who can realize it", says Johan Persson.
At the time of bankruptcy, G-Loot had only two board members. Chairman Jonas Eriksson, who also holds the same role at First North-listed game developer Mag Interactive, and member Håkan Jerner, who is commercial manager in the Nordics at betting company Betsson.
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