East Asia Super League secures US$40m to fund expansion as CEO Matt Bayer talks up ‘bullish’ outlook
- Crest Sports and Entertainment leads latest round of cash injection into start-up
- League chief Matt Bayer has targeted growth to make basketball organisation one of world’s biggest by 2025
East Asia Super League has secured US$40 million in its Series C fundraising round from investment group Crest Sports and Entertainment, as it seeks to cement itself among the top basketball leagues worldwide.
Matt Beyer, the league’s CEO, said the latest cash injection had fallen US$10 million short of expectations, but remained “very bullish” on the outlook for the organisation, despite a gloomy economic picture.
“There’s a lot of interest right now from family offices, sports funds and also media companies that want to have an interest in our company and also potentially procure rights going forward,” Beyer told SportBusiness.
Crest, based in Australia and led by US businessman Jared Novelly, will invest some money of its own and work with EASL to seek additional capital from outside sources. The league is aiming to close the latest round of funding, when its Champions Week event in Japan will take place.
Novelly said East Asia Super League had built an “unrivalled brand” from scratch in a short time.
