# FaZe Clan Financial Model FaZe Clan is a digital-native gaming lifestyle brand and esports organization going public via SPAC merger with B. Riley Principal 150 Merger Corp. - Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/faze-clan - Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/faze-clan.xlsx - Category: Media/Gaming - Model type: SaaS ARR / Valuation - Funding round: Public - Funding: $725M - Founded: 2022 - Geography: Primarily U.S. (~95% of revenue); ~50% of audience is outside the U.S.; international expansion (APAC, LatAm, Middle East) is a key growth pillar. [DECK slide 37] - Customer: B2C ## About the company FaZe Clan is a digital-native gaming lifestyle and esports brand built around competitive teams, creators, and a large young social audience. It reported more than 350 million followers, an estimated 120 million unique YouTube viewers, and an audience that is 80% aged 13–34. Its revenue mix includes brand sponsorship, content advertising, esports and gaming income, consumer products, and international expansion. Sponsorship deals include McDonald’s, General Mills, Nissan, and G FUEL; product collaborations generated more than $1.2 million in under four hours for Murakami and $1.7 million in 24 hours for Juice WRLD. The SPAC case starts with $38 million of 2020 revenue and relies on a sharp increase in monetisation per unique fan. The model must isolate organic segment growth from acquisitions, emerging products, SPAC redemptions, PIPE proceeds, earn-outs, warrants, and the pro forma cap table. ## What's included - 5-year monthly revenue build with stage-appropriate growth assumptions - Full P&L, headcount plan, and operating-expense schedule - Cash-flow statement, runway, and burn-rate tracking - Valuation via exit multiple with a DCF cross-check - Returns analysis with MOIC and IRR - Unit economics including CAC, LTV, payback, and cohort retention ## Product & value proposition - Digital-native lifestyle brand and premier esports organization founded 2010. - 350mm+ combined social media followers (Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitch). - ~120mm estimated unique YouTube audience (owned + talent channels). - 80% of audience aged 13–34 - a demographic that is increasingly hard to reach via traditional media. - Revenue streams: brand sponsorship, content (ad revenue, owned + talent network), esports/gaming (prize money, digital items, league participation, player transfers), consumer products (branded merch, collabs, mass retail), and international. - Pipeline opportunities: subscriptions, real-money gaming, live events, virtual dining, NFTs/metaverse, game publisher partnerships. - Evolving from digital publisher to full IP engine across formats (linear series, podcasts, documentaries, music). ## Market - ~3bn global gamers. - 400mm+ esports viewers, growing ~8% per year. - Global video streaming market: CAGR of 21% from 2021E to 2028E. - Gen Z expected global income of $33tn by 2030E. - 82% of global gaming revenue is outside North America; 76% of global esports revenue outside U.S. - Influencer marketing adoption by U.S. marketers (100+ employees): 55% (2019) → 62% (2020) → 68% (2021) → 73% (2022E). - No explicit TAM/SAM/SOM framing; deck positions FaZe relative to peer sports leagues by sponsorship revenue and monetization per fan. ## Revenue model Five disclosed revenue streams: 1. **Brand Sponsorship** - corporate sponsors (McDonald's, General Mills, Nissan, G FUEL, etc.); both endemic gaming brands and mass-market blue chips. 2025E target ~$145mm from brand sponsorship. 2. **Content** - ad revenue from owned YouTube channels and talent network channels. 2025E target ~$133mm incremental from content. 3. **Esports / Gaming** - prize money, digital items, league participation fees, player transfers; 30 championships won to date. 2025E target ~$17mm (small relative contribution). 4. **Consumer Products** - branded merch, player collabs, mass retail, NFTs. Juice WRLD collab $1.7mm+ in 24h; Murakami collab $1.2mm+ in <4h. 2025E target ~$43mm. 5. **International** - replication of U.S. model in APAC, LatAm, Middle East via acquisitions/partnerships. 2025E target ~$68mm (acquisition-dependent). 6. **M&A** - 3 unidentified future acquisitions baked into plan; $178mm of 2025E revenue attributed to M&A. 7. **Emerging Monetization Areas** - subscriptions, gambling, virtual dining, NFTs, etc.; $92mm in 2025E. 2020 revenue base: $38mm (actual). ## Traction & metrics - **2020 Revenue**: $38mm - **2021E Revenue**: $50mm - **Social media reach**: 350mm+ total followers (2021); up from 215mm in 2019 - 63%+ increase. - **YouTube unique audience**: ~120mm estimated uniques. - **Social interactions**: 143mm cross-platform actions - more than next 8 esports orgs combined. - **Monetization per unique fan**: ~$0.42 in 2021E; target $3.52 by 2025E. - **Sponsorship examples**: McDonald's, General Mills, Nissan, G FUEL deals in place. - **Consumer product sales**: Murakami collab >$1.2mm in <4h; Juice WRLD collab >$1.7mm in 24h. - **Audience composition**: 80% aged 13–34. - **International revenue**: ~5% of total revenue despite ~50% of audience being outside the U.S. - **FaZe5 talent contest**: 200K+ applicants in first edition. ## Unit economics - **Monetization per unique fan**: $0.42 (2021E) vs. NFL ~$91, NBA ~$66, NHL ~$65, MLB ~$44, and broader esports comp ~$5. - **Gross margin**: 20% (2021E) → 31% (2022E) → 34% (2023E) → 32% (2024E) → 32% (2025E). - **Adjusted EBITDA margin**: (38%) (2021E) → (15%) (2022E) → 7% (2023E) → 16% (2024E) → 20% (2025E). ## Competition / moat - Positioned as #3 U.S. individual sports/esports brand by cross-platform social actions (behind only two unnamed traditional sports brands based on bar chart). - More social interactions than next 8 esports orgs combined (143mm vs. G2 Esports at 38mm next). - Total followers (org + athletes): FaZe 363mm vs. Lakers 242mm, Warriors 106mm. - Moat framed as: (a) brand affinity with hard-to-reach Gen Z/Millennial cohort; (b) authentic creator economy roots (not a constructed corporate entity); (c) cross-platform diversification insulating from any single platform risk. - No traditional esports competitor is named as a direct moat threat; traditional sports leagues are held up as the revenue aspiration benchmark. ## Team & funding ask / use of funds **Management team** (slide 31): - Lee Trink - CEO; 25+ years media, Capitol/Virgin Records, Kid Rock/Backstreet Boys management. - Amit Bajaj - CFO; 20+ years finance, Centerview Partners, Bank of America, CEO of Big 3. - Tammy Brandt - CLO; DXC Technology, Dreamscape; 20+ years legal/M&A. - Jaci Hays - Chief Corporate Alliance Officer; GoPro, CBS Interactive. - Kai Henry - CSO; SKEE.TV, Sol Republic Headphones. - Jeff Pabst - CRO; Shazam, ShareThis. - Bill McCullough - EVP Content; 11x Emmy winner, NFL, HBO. **SPAC counterparty team**: Daniel Shribman (CEO, BRPM; COO B. Riley Principal Investments); Bryant Riley (Chairman, B. Riley Financial). **Transaction / use of funds**: - BRPM Cash in Trust: $173mm - PIPE Proceeds: $118mm - FaZe Equity Rollover: $670mm - Total Sources: $971mm - New Cash to Balance Sheet: $264mm (used for organic investment, M&A, transaction expenses, general corporate purposes) - Illustrative Fees & Expenses: $26mm - Post-transaction ownership: FaZe existing shareholders 67.9%; BRPM public shareholders 17.5%; PIPE investors 11.9%; BRPM sponsor 2.7%. - Implied post-money EV: $713mm at $10.00/share. - EV/Revenue multiples: 3.8x (2023E), 1.9x (2024E), 1.1x (2025E). --- ## Recommended financial model **This is a SPAC/de-SPAC deck for an operating company going public.** The appropriate model is a **de-SPAC operating model** - not a plain-vanilla 3-statement, not an LBO. The primary analytical work is validating the target company's operating projections and layering on transaction mechanics. - **Archetype + why**: De-SPAC operating forecast + transaction mechanics model. FaZe is a multi-revenue-stream media/lifestyle business; the operating core is a **multi-segment revenue P&L** (like a media/entertainment 3-statement) combined with SPAC trust/PIPE sources-and-uses, pro forma cap table, and EV/revenue sensitivity. The deck's projections are management estimates (non-GAAP, unaudited); the model must stress-test them. - **Forecast horizon & granularity**: Annual, 2020A–2025E (matching deck). Monthly granularity for 2021–2022 would be useful for liquidity modelling given PIPE timing assumption (Dec 31, 2021). Extend to 2027E for DCF terminal value. - **Key drivers & assumptions**: - **Unique audience (fans)**: ~120mm (2021E); grow to 185mm by 2025E at 15% CAGR. post-2025 growth decelerates to 8–10% as platform reach matures. - **Revenue per unique fan**: $0.42 (2021E); $3.52 (2025E). The trajectory implies ~70% monetization CAGR - the single most important and most aggressive assumption. Model as a separate driver per segment. - **Brand Sponsorship revenue**: $145mm (2025E). drives 22% of 2025E revenue; growth relies on expanding blue-chip sponsor roster and higher deal averages. - **Content revenue**: $133mm (2025E) incremental above 2020 base. YouTube ad CPM stable; talent network revenue share at ~30% of gross. - **Esports/Gaming**: $17mm (2025E). minor contribution; prize money lumpy; model as flat/low-growth. - **Consumer Products**: $43mm (2025E). depends on retail distribution partnerships; gross margin ~50% for branded goods. - **International**: $68mm (2025E); requires acquisition or partnership in 2022E. deal not yet identified; treat as acquisition-dependent; model with/without in scenarios. - **M&A revenue contribution**: $178mm (2025E). 3 unidentified acquisitions; material uncertainty; model as a contingent scenario. - **Emerging Monetization**: $92mm (2025E). includes NFTs, subscriptions, virtual dining - speculative; haircut heavily in base case. - **Gross margin**: 20% (2021E) → 32% (2025E). margin expansion driven by operating leverage on fixed talent/content costs as sponsorship (high-margin) grows. - **Adjusted EBITDA margin**: (38%) → 20%. cost structure largely fixed (talent salaries, content production, staff); scale drives EBITDA leverage. - **SPAC cash to balance sheet**: $264mm. assumes zero redemptions and full $118mm PIPE. - **Transaction fees & expenses**: $26mm. - **Earn-out shares**: 2.2mm BRPM shares vest at $12/$14/$16 within 5 years post-close; model dilution impact in cap table. - **Warrants**: 5.75mm public + 0.17mm private warrants at $11.50 strike; model dilution. - **Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear)**: - **Flex variables**: (1) Revenue per unique fan trajectory (the critical lever); (2) M&A and international revenue materializing vs. excluded; (3) gross margin expansion pace; (4) SPAC redemption rate (0% assumed in deck; model 20% and 50% redemption scenarios for liquidity sensitivity). - **Bull**: M&A and international revenue per plan; audience grows 18% CAGR; monetization reaches $4+ per fan; gross margins hit 35%+. - **Base**: International/M&A revenue at 70% of plan (reflecting execution risk); monetization at $2.50/fan by 2025E; gross margins at 28–30%. - **Bear**: No M&A or international revenue; organic-only; monetization stays <$1.50/fan; EBITDA remains negative through 2025E. - **Required sheets / outputs**: 1. Transaction overview - Sources & Uses, pro forma cap table, post-transaction ownership % (with earn-out + warrant dilution) 2. Operating assumptions - audience, revenue per fan, segment revenue build 3. Revenue detail - 7 segments × 5 years (2021E–2025E); stacked column chart 4. P&L - Revenue, COGS, Gross Profit, Opex, EBITDA (GAAP and Adj.) 2020A–2025E 5. Cash flow - FCF bridge; liquidity runway given $264mm new cash 6. Valuation - EV/Revenue comps (esports + media + sports); DCF with WACC sensitivity (given loss-making near term, weight comps heavily) 7. Scenario / sensitivity - Revenue per fan × audience size matrix; M&A on/off toggle 8. Dashboard - KPIs: social reach, unique audience, Rev/fan, gross margin %, Adj. EBITDA margin % ## Frequently asked questions ### Is the FaZe Clan financial model free? Yes. The FaZe Clan model is a free Excel download with live formulas. ### Can I change the assumptions? Yes. The workbook is editable and its live formulas recalculate when assumptions change.