Blue Star Capital PLC (LON:BLU) has expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of a small stake in Canadian mobile games supplier Leaf Digital Studios.
The tech investor will put C$100,000 (£57,000) into Leaf, which is in the process of being acquired by Caprice ahead of its readmission to the Canadian Venture Exchange.
The investment, which is conditional on the readmission, is being made at C$0.16 per share, which will give Caprice a market value of around C$34mln.
Blue Star itself is raising £100,000 through a placing at 0.1p by Jonathan Bixby, who introduced the group’s esports investments to the company, while chairman Derek Lew is investing an additional £17,500.
Development of the esports businesses has been slowed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but otherwise Blue Star said trading has been fine.
In a statement, Tony Fabrizi, Blue Star’s chief executive, said: "Despite the traumatic impact of COVID-19 on all our lives, we are pleased with the overall performance of our portfolio companies and with the expansion of our portfolio through the investment in Leaf.
“The funds raised through the placing will also provide additional working capital to support the business during these uncertain times.”
Shares in Blue Star rose 5% to 0.11p.