Pacquiao invests in Singaporean mobile game company

MANILA, Philippines – Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao has bought into a Singapore-based mobile gaming company.

Pacquiao, who’s just won a Senate seat in the Philippine elections last month, snapped up a small stake in Gtoken, a platform that publishes crowdsourced mobile games, for an undisclosed amount. The parties formally inked the deal in the boxer’s hometown General Santos City in southern Philippines over the weekend.

Gtoken declined to reveal the specifics of the deal when asked.

Now valued at $60 million (P2.774 billion), the startup has over a million users to date across Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and China, according to a company statement.

Gtoken’s founding investors include Ivan Lee, a serial entrepreneur whose previous food and beverage company was acquired for over $73 million (P3.375 billion). Ivan is also the founder of Raging Bull, a private investment fund focused on tech.

Manny ranked as the world’s second highest-paid athlete, falling behind his rival Floyd Mayweather, in Forbes’ 2015 list. The two athletes’ epic fight in Las Vegas last year helped boost their rankings. Manny also sourced a part his wealth from various endorsement deals with brands such as Nike, Foot Locker, Wonderful Pistachios, Nestle’s Butterfinger, and a handful in the Philippines.

Nike however cut its ties with Manny early this year after his controversial remarks where he said gay people were “worse than animals.”

Manny made the derogatory remarks in a television interview aired in the Philippines.

Other brands including Wonderful Pistachios also distanced themselves from the boxer, saying they didn’t share his views. “Wonderful Pistachios is not currently affiliated with Manny Pacquiao nor do his views align with ours,” the company’s spokesperson Jennifer George was quoted as saying in a February USA TODAY report. “Wonderful Pistachios stands firmly for diversity and equality and we proudly support marriage equality and inclusion around the world.” – Rappler.com

$1= P46.25

Editor’s note: This article was first published on Tech in Asia.