Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) gained steam in midday trade Tuesday after it quietly purchased a social network company to expand its esports business.
The e-commerce giant bought social network Bebo for under $25 million via its streaming platform Twitch, TechCrunch reported.
Twitch plans to work with Bebo to build out esports, specifically TwitchRivals, according to TechCrunch.
A relatively small company, Bebo helped build up the esports market by organizing and running tournaments for streamers, making it more popular and profitable via player fees and advertising.
Esports is a growing sector, with nearly 400 million users in 2018, according to eMarketer. It is projected to be worth between $1.6 billion and $3 billion by 2022.
Amazon.com was up 1.7% in midday trade.
