Miami-based NASCAR video-game maker set to go public on NASDAQ exchange

Rob Wile
·2 min read

Miami has added another publicly traded company to its ranks.

Motorsport Gaming US LLC, which develops and publishes video games for NASCAR, Le Mans, and British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), listed 3 million shares on the NASDAQ exchange. They were priced at $20 per share and will trade under the symbol MSGM. Shares began trading Wednesday.

“It’s a natural milestone,” said Motorsport CEO Dmitry Kozko in an interview. “It helps us do multiple things: We want to build more great racing games and e-sport events, and having the ability to create those with the status of a public company helps.”

He also said the other major franchises they’d hope to attract, like carting or open-wheel series, would “appreciate the transparency that comes from being a public company, since they’re licensing their most valuable asset.”

According to its stock prospectus, the company had losses of nearly $2 million for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2020. Over the same period, revenue totaled $16.1 million; that compares with $9.6 million for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2019.

Motorsport was formed in 2018 as a subsidiary of Motorsport Network, a Miami-based media company established in 2010. Both firms are headquartered at 5972 NE Fourth Ave in Little Haiti, where they maintain 2,000 square feet for about a dozen employees, most of them in corporate and marketing functions. Motorsport’s video-game development teams are spread between other locations including Orlando, the United Kingdom and Russia. Kozko said he is in discussions to bring the Orlando team to Miami.

On Monday, Bloomberg reported that Kozko is being sued by investors who believe he wrongfully deprived them of funds after acquiring a discounted minority stake in Charlotte-based 704Games, a subsidiary that is said to generate the majority of Motorsport Gaming’s revenues.

Kozko told the Miami Herald the suit is without merit.

“We do not believe the allegations present a material risk to our business,” he said.