Texas Esports, LLC, the majority owner of Infinite Esports & Entertainment, is preparing to offer its stake in the multiteam esports organization for sale at a price tag of $150 million or more, company sources told ESPN on Sunday.
Infinite, which owns the OpTic Gaming brand and Overwatch League's Houston Outlaws, is consolidating its other businesses in preparation for the listing of Texas Esports' stake.
The organization is expected to go up for sale in early February, sources said.
Texas Esports is a group led by Texas Rangers co-owner Neil Leibman. Rangers majority owner Ray Davis, via his Avatar Investments body, is also part of the group. Leibman and Avatar were early investors in Infinite when it was founded in mid-2017 by Chris Chaney and other entrepreneurs. Leibman did not respond to a request for comment.
Infinite laid off 19 employees in October, according to a report from SportsBusiness Daily, and ousted CEO Chaney, appointing longtime OpTic executive and Infinite senior vice president Ryan Musselman as its top executive. Musselman has overseen the restructuring as the company works to focus more specifically on OpTic and the Outlaws.
No employees have been laid off in this round of consolidation. Employees from Infinite's support businesses -- GG Esports Academy, Triggerfish, No Scope Media, Third Label and Innovative Performance Institute -- have been transferred to specific roles under the OpTic Gaming, Houston Outlaws and Obey Alliance banners, sources said.
Employees of the Infinite's event organizing group, NGAGE, have been moved to Esports Venues, LLC, a separate company owned by Leibman, Avatar and Kenneth Hersh, who is a co-owner of the Texas Rangers, Team Envy and Dallas Fuel. Esports Venues is partnered with the City of Arlington, Texas, to operate the Esports Stadium that opened in November.
One of Infinite's apparel company, Sector Six Apparel, was sold to We Are Nations, a competing apparel company that landed a long-term merchandising deal with the League of Legends Championship Series in November.
Driving Texas Esports' $150 million valuation of its stake are both the OpTic and Outlaws, specifically those two teams' permanent spots in the LCS and the Overwatch League, respectively. The LCS slots have become a highly valued commodity, and over the summer and fall, the Overwatch League brought in expansion franchises in 2018 in the range of $35 million to $60 million, sources previously told ESPN.
Infinite is one of three major esports companies that, following major investments in mid- to late 2017, moved to the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Hersh and his company, Hersh Interactive Group, invested $35 million in Team Envy in August 2017 as that organization simultaneously acquired rights to the Dallas area for the Overwatch League. The Dallas Cowboys and Goff Capital acquired majority control in longtime esports franchise compLexity Gaming in November 2017.