Gamer Pakistan Inc., the esports company that’s the first Pakistani entity to list on a U.S. exchange, saw its stock initially gain ground Monday in its trading debut on Nasdaq, before turning lower.
WestPark Capital Inc. was lead underwriter on the deal. The New York-based investment bank specializes in deals involving emerging growth companies in small and micro-cap markets and has an office in Hong Kong serving Asian clients.“We are a development-stage interactive esports event promotion and product marketing company, founded in November 2021,” the company said in its filing documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“The level of the football was not great but the camaraderie between the players was amazing,” Knopf told MarketWatch in an interview. “They were friendly, getting along and competing and even having conversations afterwards.” The choice of esports as a way to launch college sports programs in Pakistan was logical. Esports is recognized as a true sport in Pakistan, which has a very young population. About 65% of Pakistan’s 231 million residents are below the age of 30 and many are already gamers. Asia leads the world in esports, accounting for 46% of gamers worldwide.“Because there were no sports at any universities, there were no mascots, no merchandise, no alumni groups,” said Knopf.
Knopf, who worked with ESPN to produce the first NCAA College Esports Championship in 2019, which was streamed on ESPN3, says NCAA and ESPN have expressed interest as esports become more popular around the world.