The organization’s background company was declared bankrupt on Wednesday. The company’s biggest creditor, Mediatalo Keskisuomalainen, no longer wanted to finance the loss-making business.
11:54•Updated 12:04
Jyväskylä’s e-sports organization KOVA has filed for bankruptcy. The organization’s background company Esports Media Solutions Oy filed for bankruptcy in the Central Finland District Court on Tuesday and was placed in bankruptcy on Wednesday.
KOVA had teams in CS:GO, Valorant and Farming Simulator video games, among others. The organization has also won several Finnish digital car racing championships Tuomas Tähtelän under. In addition, the company owned the e-sports-focused news site etiruheil.com.
The reason for the bankruptcy application was the depletion of cash resources and the company’s insolvency. According to the bankruptcy filing, the company’s debts are almost 150,000 euros in total, and the assets, which mainly consist of computers and furniture, are less than 30,000 euros.
The company’s biggest creditor is the team’s co-owner Mediatalo Keskisuomalainen Oy, to whom the company owes about 100,000 euros according to the bankruptcy application.
The company’s other owners also have claims for more than 30,000 euros, and the Tax Administration has about 9,000 euros. In addition to these, the creditors include a furniture company with claims for 9,000 euros.
KOVA’s team leader Timo Tarvainen told about the bankruptcy filing on Tuesday evening on Twitter.
Group CEO of the company’s largest creditor, Mediatalo Keskisuomalainen Vesa-Pekka Kangaskorpi says Keskisuomainen wanted to stop the company’s accumulation of losses.
– We ran out of patience for capitalizing and financing the company, Kangaskorpi tells Urheilu.
– The company didn’t do as well as expected in terms of sports, or didn’t get partnerships that would have made it profitable. We have had to lend and support the company financially, but now we blew the whistle, Kangaskorpi describes the circumstances that led to the bankruptcy.
According to Kangaskorvi, the Keskisuomalainen joined the company founded in 2019 as a minority shareholder with a 24.99 percent stake “as a study channel for e-sports”. The shareholders of KOVA Esports also included the company’s employees, so the jump into a new business area was natural.
– From our point of view, it was about building a new media product in Keskifinomainen’s media portfolio, along with digital media and magazines. Our readership and advertisers have been interested in e-sports and we wanted to reach customer groups through this.
According to Kangaskorvi, Keskisuomalainen has loaned KOVA’s background company more than his own share.
– The other owners probably couldn’t find the money to finance the operation any more. The company owes us money, so we want ours out, or at least to stop the accumulation of losses.
– This in itself is a real shame. There has been a smart, young group there, and the topic still interests us in terms of content as well.
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