Today, Singapore-based mixed martial arts (MMA) entertainment company REBEL Fighting Championship (REBEL FC) announced that it has acquired local production and audio-visual equipment and systems supplier Expo AV-InSync (EAI) for S$10 million in a bid to bolster its in-house production capabilities.
The deal comes as REBEL FC looks to produce more original content “to rival international competitors”.
It is also planning to organise 8 to 10 events per year, which is a “substantial increase on current fight scheduling”.
The company is currently most active in the Chinese market, where it’s working on an MMA reality TV show.
According to the press release, it has also secured deals with major live broadcast TV networks like Qinghai Satellite, GDTV Sports, Tianjin Sports, Beijing Sports, and online streaming deals with platforms like IQiyi, Youku, YY.com, Fighting World, Baofeng Sports, and Sina Sports.
Their most recent fight in May last year, REBEL FC 8, drew a live broadcast TV and digital viewership of over 13 million.
Its upcoming fight, REBEL FC 9 Return of the Champion, will take place in Shanghai in September and is expected to “cement REBEL FC’s lead in China where its viewership numbers have increased by 100 per cent year-on-year“.
Said Justin Leong, CEO of REBEL FC: “We know that to become a truly global force in MMA we need a world-class production capability, which this deal delivers.”
As we end 2019 and head into 2020, we are ready to take the fight to our international rivals. Our strong foothold in China, where we are the market leader, represents just the first step on our global expansion.
Gerard Rodrigues, Managing Director of EAI, added: “This exciting opportunity to become part of the REBEL FC family will see our production and audio-visual equipment and systems capabilities seamlessly integrated into REBEL FC’s global MMA events and media efforts.”
“From everything we’ve seen, REBEL FC has the potential to become a truly global force in MMA – one of the few Singapore brands with real international appeal.”
