Embracer Group

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Embracer Group Update Equity Research 15 December 2020 Embracer Group Sector: Gaming Loading the Next Level FAIR VALUE RANGE BEAR BASE BULL Incentives to Acquire, but also Deliver 130 250 300 Our view is that Embracer has given the key personnel incentives to obtain growth and certain financial targets through acquisitions. But we do not believe they have incentives to EMBRAC.ST VERSUS OMXS30 acquire for the sake of its own, but to achieve overall profitability and growth in the Group. OMXS 30 In contrast to many other companies, Embracers shareholders will not be further diluted if Embracer Group 250 those entrepreneurs get their full earnouts. However, if they do not deliver according to the terms, shareholders instead will benefit from a stronger balance sheet as compensation. 200 150 The Sweet Spot 100 We believe Embracer still has much room to grow through small to medium-sized 50 acquisitions. And, of course, all former acquisitions will boost growth for many years to 0 come. The risk is also lower in releasing AA titles as the investment is lower, with a 16-dec 15-mar 13-jun 11-sep 10-dec potential of a higher return on investment. We take a deeper dive into, three of the more REDEYE RATING interesting acquisitions since our last research update, namely Flying Wild Hogs, Purple Lamp Studios, and Vertigo Games. 5 Only a Bump in the Road 4 4 The Embracer-stock has shown some weakness lately but has still advanced 140% this year. We assume the weakness is only temporary due to investors feeling skeptical about People Business Financials the acquisition pace (too many, too small, and too fast). Another explanation is that the Q3- result (October-December) is also expected to be the weakest quarter this fiscal year. However, we believe this “big embracing elephant” will continue to grow significantly in a more long-term perspective. We have increased our estimates until 2023 and our valuation. KEY STATS Our new fair value range is SEK 130-300 (SEK 95-260) with a base case of SEK 250 (SEK Ticker EMBRAC.ST 205) per share. Market First North Share Price (SEK) 174.0 Market Cap (MSEK) 67447 Net Cash 20E (MSEK) 5649 KEY FINANCIALS (SEKm) FY20 FY21E FY22E FY23E Net sales 5250 8910 11356 13468 ANALYSTS EBITDA 1822 3830 5436 6886 Tomas Otterbeck Op EBIT 345 2582 3983 5205 [email protected] EPS (adj.) 2018 2019 2020E 2021E 2022E 2023E EV/Sales 4.8 8.2 6.2 4.6 Danesh Zare EV/EBIT 72.6 28 18 14 [email protected] Important information: All information regarding limitation of liability and potential conflicts of interest can be found at the end of the report Redeye, Mäster Samuelsgatan 42, 10tr, Box 7141, 103 87 Stockholm. Tel. +46 8-545 013 30, E-post: [email protected] REDEYE Equity Research Embracer Group 15 December 2020 Top of Mind: M&A, Too Many and Too Fast Shortly after the very strong Q2-results, the focus seems to have shifted to the high acquisition intensity in the last two quarters in Embracer. We think that it is a good thing that the potential risks have been a topic lately, as a subject to test our conviction in the investment case. It is not a secret that Embracer, Stillfront, and now EG7 in the gaming sector have spoiled shareholders with high flying stock prices and, more importantly, mostly great financial results. However, a few years is a short period to determine the impact of all those acquisitions. And more “moving parts” in the Groups, of course, makes it harder to predict the future. More moving parts also create a more critical demand for an effective organization, which we believe Embracer has with its six business areas. For example, we believe that the size of the acquisitions is in many ways more important than the number of acquisitions. The game studio “Flying Wild Hog” was approximately 60% of the initial purchase price during the quarter. Wild Flying Hogs and the VR-focused studio “Vertigo” have been the two largest acquisitions in the last six months. Both have been acquired by the subsidiary Deep Silver, not the recently more M&A intensive Saber Interactive and DECA. Incentives to Uphold the Acquisition Pace The two added business areas this year are Saber Interactive and DECA. The three founders of those two companies have earnouts with certain financial milestones in 3-7 years. If they are not able to reach certain milestones their Embracer-shares they “borrowed” in the acquisitions can be reduced. This is a way for Embracer to secure that key personnel stays loyal. The subsidiaries’ incentives are aligned with the Group, and the management in the Group of course has the power to neglect acquisitions that are not considered a good fit. The two founders of Saber Interactive have operational earnouts, for example, they have to release a certain amount of games during a six years period. If they reach these milestones, they get a certain profit-share. The two founders currently own Embracer-shares for SEK 3.5 billion each. The founder of DECA, Ken Go, owns “borrowed” Embracer-shares currently worth SEK 1 billion. He has different financial milestones in a 3 to 7-years period. If he reaches these milestones, he can keep his Embracer shares. In five years he must, for example, reach a certain level of revenues and profitability. Any acquisitions made will be added to milestones but will have a cost-of-capital formula that will be added to the hurdles. In contrast to many other companies, Embracers shareholders will not be further diluted if those entrepreneurs get their full earnouts. However, if they do not deliver according to the terms, shareholders instead will benefit from a stronger balance sheet as compensation. Our view is that Embracer has given the key personnel incentives to obtain growth and certain financial targets through acquisitions. But we do not believe they have incentives to acquire for the sake of its own, but to achieve overall profitability and growth in the company. On the other hand, there is a great driving force to build great companies for these entrepreneurs, which we believe is the primary mission for them. 2 dsfdsf REDEYE Equity Research Embracer Group 15 December 2020 The Market wants a Mega Acquisition Wingefors sees somewhat increased competition amongst small to medium-sized private gaming companies, especially in the PC/Console so-called “premium-segment”, which is the core focus for the company. This often results in higher earnings-multiples in potential acquisitions. Amongst studios with a “free-to-play” business model, often found in online PC- games and mobile games, the competition is lower. Embracer has significant room for a mega acquisition, through the mandate of new shares and a large cash position. Wingefors prefer acquisitions in a private environment. It is more complicated to buy a public company, and the price tag is, in most cases more expensive. We believe Embracer will buy more major studios like Saber Interactive. But it will of course be more complicated to buy/merge with some of the premium class studios like Bungie, Techland, Platinum Games, etcetera. As we all know Microsoft, Tencent, or Epic Games will likely win those targets if the highest price wins. Many a Little makes a Mickle With the latest acquisitions, Embracer has 58 in-house game studios under its umbrella, of which 20 have been added since August this year. We believe Embracer still has much room to grow through small to medium-sized bolt on-acquisitions. And, of course, all former acquisitions will boost growth for many years to come. The risk is also lower in releasing A/AA titles as the investment is lower, and we believe the return on investment is usually higher. The latest SpongeBob release being an excellent example of a game with a relatively small budget but still contributing materially to Embracers sales in the quarter. Flying Wild Hog The most notable acquisition was the Polish game developer “Flying Wild Hog” with its 266 employees and an initial purchase price of USD 137.2 million. The developer, which was acquired by Koch Media, includes the game series Shadow Warrior and Hard Reset. One of the games that the studio is working on was announced during The Game Awards 2020, on December 11, 2020, and is called Evil West. The game is set to release in 2021 and Focus Home Interactive is the publisher. The announcement trailer has amassed almost a million views spread across different YouTube channels. Flying Wild Hog is working on two additional unannounced projects. One of which is going to be published by Jagex. Flying Wild Hog has created two games on the Shadow Warrior IP. The games have sold over 9 million copies, and the sequel Shadow Warrior 3 is planned to be released in 2021. We think this is a great acquisition since it already has a wide pipeline of games. Shadow Warrior is a strong IP, and there is a high probability for the upcoming game to be a success. 3 dsfdsf REDEYE Equity Research Embracer Group 15 December 2020 Purple Lamp Studios THQ Nordic has acquired 100% of the shares in Vienna-based studio, Purple Lamp, onboarding its team of 38 developers. The purchase price consists of a combination of cash and shares, but the acquisition price was not disclosed. The two companies have worked together on multiple projects in the past, including this year’s SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated and The Guild 3, which currently is in Early Access.
Recommended publications
  • Expo Hall Expo Hall
    EXPO HALL EXPO HALL 1985 Games . 8118 Cloudapult . 25006 . Fitchburg State University . .14079 . Mercury Learning and Info . 30031 Pure Arts . .28076 . Super Spin Digital . 32032 1UpOnCancer . .32120 . Cloudfire Studios . 32080. Flaming Toast . 24076 Merge Games . .32036 . Q-Workshop . 25002 Sweet Bandits Studios . 28043. 32122 32120 32116 32112 32110 32108 32106 32104 32102 32098 32096 32094 32088 32086 32084 32082 32080 32078 32072 32052 32050 32048 32046 32042 32036 32032 32028 32024 32022 32018 32014 32010 32006 3BlackDot . 18047 Coatsink Software . .16075 . Foam Brain . 22003 . Meta Threads . .27017 . Qing Feng Tech . 31079 . Table Titans . 8120 . 3D Generation . Codename Entertainment . 29071. Focus Home Interactive . 29017 . Metallic Dice Games . 24003 . Quantum Astrophysicists Guild . Tabletop Tycoon . 26003 31081 31080 30081 30080 29080 28081 27080 26080 25080 24081 19068 18069 18068 17069 PLATINUM 15080 14081 13080 12081 12080 11081 11080 32104 27077 29081 26081 23081 13081 3XR . 32078. Command D . 32048. For Fans By Fans . .8082 . Metro VR Studios . .12004 . Rainway . 12003 Tahoe Games . 22034. 24078 BLUE GAMES 31079 30077 30078 28079 28076 27077 25077 23076 22077 19066 18067 18066 17067 16081 SEAGATE 15078 14079 13078 12079 12078 11079 Computer Lunch . Forked Lightning . MiHoYo Limited . Team D-13 . MAMMOTH 562 Interactive . 12002. 30047 31077 25035 Rapt Interactive . 30080 . 14081 31076 29076 27076 26076 25076 24077 TECHNOLOGY 31077 29077 26077 23077 GAMES 9th Level Games . 31006. Contigo Games . .24038 . Frostbox Studios . 32086. Mixer . 12039 . Rebellion . .29037 . Team17 . 14003. 30077 30076 28077 24076 HYPETRAIN COATSINK 15075 ARENANET 11074 19075 EKWB DIGITAL SOFTWARE 15074 14075 13074 12075 12074 11075 Academy of Art University . 27063 . Controller Chaos . .8040 . Furious Tree Games .
    [Show full text]
  • View Portfolio Document
    games assets portfolio FULL GAME CREDITS ACTIVISION InXILE Starbreeze Call of Duty: Ghosts Heist The walking dead Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 IO INTERACTIVE SQUARE ENIX Call of Duty: Infinity Warfare Hitman: Absolution Bravely Default BIOWARE KABAM THQ Dragon Age: Inquisition Spirit Lords Darksiders Saints Row 2 CRYSTAL DYNAMICS KONAMI Tomb Raider 2013 Silent Hill: Shattered Memories TORUS Rise of the Tomb Raider Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse MIDWAY Falling Skies: Planetary Warfare ELECTRONIC ARTS NFL Blitz 2 How to Train Your Dragon 2 DarkSpore Penguins of Madagascar FIFA 09/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19 PANDEMIC STUDIOS Fight Night 4 The Sabateur VICIOUS CYCLE Harry Potter – Deathly Hallows Part 1 & 2 Ben 10: Alien Force NBA Live 09/10/12/13 ROCKSTAR GAMES Dead Head Fred NCAA Football 09/10/11/12/13/14 LA Noire NFL Madden 11/12/13/14/15 / 18 Max Payne 2 2K NHL 09/10/11/12/13/16/17/18 Max Payne 3 NBA 2K14/15 Rory Mcilroy PGA Tour Red Dead Redemption Tiger Woods 11/12/13 Grand Theft Auto V 505 GAMES Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Takedown (Trailer) UFC 1/ 2 /3 SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT NFS – Payback God of War 2 EPIC GAMES Battlefield 1 In the name of Tsar Sorcery Gears of War 2 Killzone: Shadow Fall UBISOFT Assassin’s Creed GAMELOFT Starlink Asphalt 9 Steep Rainbow 6 KEYFRAME ANIMATION ASSET CREATION MOCAP CLEANUP LIGHTING FX UBISOFT Assassin Creed Odyssey UBISOFT UBISOFT Assassin Creed Odyssey UBISOFT Assassin Creed Odyssey UBISOFT Assassin Creed Odyssey UBISOFT Assassin Creed Odyssey Electronic Arts
    [Show full text]
  • Redeye-Gaming-Guide-2020.Pdf
    REDEYE GAMING GUIDE 2020 GAMING GUIDE 2020 Senior REDEYE Redeye is the next generation equity research and investment banking company, specialized in life science and technology. We are the leading providers of corporate broking and corporate finance in these sectors. Our clients are innovative growth companies in the nordics and we use a unique rating model built on a value based investment philosophy. Redeye was founded 1999 in Stockholm and is regulated by the swedish financial authority (finansinspektionen). THE GAMING TEAM Johan Ekström Tomas Otterbeck Kristoffer Lindström Jonas Amnesten Head of Digital Senior Analyst Senior Analyst Analyst Entertainment Johan has a MSc in finance Tomas Otterbeck gained a Kristoffer Lindström has both Jonas Amnesten is an equity from Stockholm School of Master’s degree in Business a BSc and an MSc in Finance. analyst within Redeye’s tech- Economic and has studied and Economics at Stockholm He has previously worked as a nology team, with focus on e-commerce and marketing University. He also studied financial advisor, stockbroker the online gambling industry. at MBA Haas School of Busi- Computing and Systems and equity analyst at Swed- He holds a Master’s degree ness, University of California, Science at the KTH Royal bank. Kristoffer started to in Finance from Stockholm Berkeley. Johan has worked Institute of Technology. work for Redeye in early 2014, University, School of Business. as analyst and portfolio Tomas was previously respon- and today works as an equity He has more than 6 years’ manager at Swedbank Robur, sible for Redeye’s website for analyst covering companies experience from the online equity PM at Alfa Bank and six years, during which time in the tech sector with a focus gambling industry, working Gazprombank in Moscow he developed its blog and on the Gaming and Gambling in both Sweden and Malta as and as hedge fund PM at community and was editor industry.
    [Show full text]
  • 25 Jahre Koch Media – Ein Jubiläum (PDF Download)
    25 JAHRE KOCH MEDIA - EIN JUBILÄUM Während Unternehmen in manch anderen Branchen mit 25 Und so ist die Entwicklung von Koch Media in den vergange- Jahren noch zu den Newcomern zählen würden, ist diese nen 25 Jahren auch ein Mutmacher: Sie zeigt, dass man mit Zeitspanne in der Entertainment-Branche kaum zu überbli- der Entwicklung und dem Vertrieb von Games auch in und cken. Zu schnell kommen und gehen Trends und mit ihnen aus Deutschland heraus enorm erfolgreich sein kann. häufig auch ganze Unternehmen. Das gilt ganz besonders für die Games-Branche, die zwar seit vielen Jahren stark Koch Media hat sich in den vergangenen 25 Jahren zu einem wächst, deren dynamische Entwicklung aber selbst Bran- integralen Bestandteil der deutschen Games-Branche ent- chen-Urgesteine von Zeit zu Zeit überfordert. Das 25-jähri- wickelt. Als Gründungsmitglied des BIU – Bundesverband ge Jubiläum von Koch Media ist daher ein Meilenstein, der Interaktive Unterhaltungssoftware und mit Dr. Klemens Kun- gar nicht hoch genug geschätzt werden kann. dratitz als aktivem Vorstand des Verbandes hat sich Koch Media immer für die Themen der Branche und die Weiter- Die Erfolgsgeschichte von Koch Media ist auch mit dem entwicklung der gamescom engagiert. Seit vielen Jahren ist Blick auf ihren Entstehungsort einmalig. Die Geschichte der Koch Media Partner von Spiele-Entwicklern in Deutschland deutschen Games-Branche ist sehr wechselhaft, nur wenige wie aktuell von King Art oder hat eigene Studios wie Deep Unternehmen schaffen es über viele Jahre, hier Games zu Silver Fishlabs. Doch darf man das Unternehmen nicht nur entwickeln und zu verlegen. Das Image von Games hat sich auf seine Rolle in Deutschland beschränken: Mit Niederlas- erst in den vergangenen Jahren verbessert und war zuvor sungen in allen europäischen Kernmärkten, in Nordamerika allzu lange von Klischees bestimmt.
    [Show full text]
  • Embracer Group Acquires Easy Trigger
    Press release Karlstad, Sweden, 5 August 2021 Embracer Group acquires Easy Trigger Embracer Group AB (“Embracer”) through its wholly owned subsidiary Coffee Stain Studios AB ("Coffee Stain"), have entered into an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the shares in Easy Trigger AB ("Easy Trigger"), the studio behind the critically acclaimed title Huntdown. “We have worked with Easy Trigger for a couple of years already on the Huntdown game and are impressed with talent within the studio. We will continue to work closely with the team and are excited welcome them into the Embracer family”, says Anton Westbergh, Co-founder and CEO Coffee Stain. Background and rationale Easy Trigger is a development studio founded in 2016, with headquarters located in Trollhättan, Sweden. The studio consists of 5 employees that have collaborated with Coffee Stain on the development and release of the critically acclaimed indie title Huntdown. Easy Trigger is led by co-founder and CEO Tommy Gustafsson, and co- founder and lead programmer Andreas Renberg. The company was wholly owned by the two co-founders who will remain in their current roles post-transaction. Through the acquisition, Coffee Stain onboards a talented team that will boost the development of 1st party IP within the group. Going forward, Easy Trigger will collaborate with Coffee Stain to continue working on the Huntdown IP as well as creating new original indie titles. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with Coffee Stain and further leverage the knowledge and experience within the entire Embracer Group, to accelerate growth within Easy Trigger and continue to make great games” says Tommy Gustafsson, Co-founder and CEO Easy Trigger.
    [Show full text]
  • OPERATIONAL EBIT INCREASED 217% to SEK 396 MILLION
    THQ NORDIC AB (PUBL) REG NO.: 556582-6558 EXTENDED FINANCIAL YEAR REPORT • 1 JAN 2018 – 31 MAR 2019 OPERATIONAL EBIT INCREASED 217% to SEK 396 MILLION JANUARY–MARCH 2019 JANUARY 2018–MARCH 2019, 15 MONTHS (Compared to January–March 2018) (Compared to full year 2017) > Net sales increased 158% to SEK 1,630.5 m > Net sales increased to SEK 5,754.1 m (507.5). (632.9). > EBITDA increased to SEK 1,592.6 m (272.6), > EBITDA increased 174% to SEK 618.6 m (225.9), corresponding to an EBITDA margin of 28%. corresponding to an EBITDA margin of 38%. > Operational EBIT increased to SEK 897.1 m > Operational EBIT increased 217% to SEK 395.9 m (202.3) corresponding to an Operational EBIT (124.9) corresponding to an Operational EBIT margin of 16%. margin of 24%. > Cash flow from operating activities amounted > Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK 1,356.4 m (179.1). to SEK 777.2 m (699.8). > Earnings per share was SEK 4.68 (1.88). > Earnings per share was SEK 1.10 (1.02). > As of 31 March 2019, cash and cash equivalents were SEK 2,929.1 m. Available cash including credit facilities was SEK 4,521.1 m. KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, Jan-Mar Jan-Mar Jan 2018- Jan-Dec GROUP 2019 2018 Mar 2019 2017 Net sales, SEK m 1,630.5 632.9 5,754.1 507.5 EBITDA, SEK m 618.6 225.9 1,592.6 272.6 Operational EBIT, SEK m 395.9 124.9 897.1 202.3 EBIT, SEK m 172.0 107.3 574.6 188.2 Profit after tax , SEK m 103.0 81.1 396.8 139.2 Cash flow from operating activities, SEK m 777.2 699.8 1,356.4 179.1 Sales growth, % 158 673 1,034 68 EBITDA margin, % 38 36 28 54 Operational EBIT margin, % 24 20 16 40 Throughout this report, the extended financial year 1 January 2018 – 31 March 2019 is compared with the financial year 1 January – 31 December 2017.
    [Show full text]
  • Read Full Report (PDF)
    Equity Research - 09 August 2021 21:00 CET Embracer Group Reason: Preview of results Plenty to like despite negative sentiment Company sponsored research ABGSC Q1e adj. EBIT SEK 1,137m, -9% vs. consensus Not rated Raising adj. EPS by 1-5% ’21/22e-’23/24e on M&A Raising fair value to SEK 225-350 (225-345) per share Estimate changes (%) 2021e 2022e 2023e Q1’21/22e sales of SEK 3,249m, +57% y-o-y (~19% organic) Sales 7.3% 12.7% 13.9% For Q1’21/22e, we factor in sales of SEK 3,249m (-2.3% vs. FactSet EBIT (rep) -62.5% nm nm consensus), for total y-o-y growth of 57.1%, but organic growth of 19.5% EPS (rep) -49.1% nm nm when adjusting for M&A and FX. We consider this a strong performance Source: ABG Sundal Collier in the 2021 quarter facing the toughest COVID-19-boosted comparables. 09/08/2021 The largest revenue driver in the quarter is Biomutant by our estimate, Share price (SEK) 188.0 where we factor in ~1.4mn copies sold across all platforms. Given the Fair value range (per share) 225-350 economics of the game (internally developed & published on an own IP) this yields net sales of ~SEK 314m with a gross margin of 90.2%. Other IT, Sweden notable drivers include Metro Exodus Enhanced edition on PC and next- EMBRACB.ST/EMBRACB ST gen consoles, and SnowRunner on Steam/Switch. Overall, we estimate that Games will generate 80.9% of sales, driving a strong gross margin MCap (SEKm) 92,344 of 59.8% in the quarter.
    [Show full text]
  • THQ Nordic AB (Publ) Acquires Koch Media
    THQ Nordic AB (publ) acquires Koch Media Investor Presentation February 14, 2018 Acquisition rationale AAA intellectual property rights Saints Row and Dead Island Long-term exclusive licence within Games for “Metro” based on books by Dmitry Glukhovsky 4 AAA titles in production including announced Metro Exodus and Dead Island 2 2 AAA studios Deep Silver Volition (Champaign, IL) and Deep Silver Dambuster Studios (Nottingham, UK) #1 Publishing partner in Europe for 50+ companies Complementary business models and entrepreneurial cultural fit Potential revenue synergy and strong platform for further acquisitions EPS accretive acquisition to THQ Nordic shareholders 2 Creating a European player of great scale Internal development studios1 7 3 10 External development studios1 18 8 26 Number of IPs1 91 15 106 Announced 12 5 17 Development projects1 Unannounced 24 9 33 Headcount (internal and external)1 462 1,181 1,643 Net sales 2017 9m, Apr-Dec SEK 426m SEK 2,548m SEK 2,933m2 Adj. EBIT 2017 9m, Apr-Dec SEK 156m SEK 296m3 SEK 505m2,3 1) December 31, 2017. 2) Pro forma. 3) Adjusted for write-downs of SEK 552m. Source: Koch Media, THQ Nordic 3 High level transaction structure THQ Nordic AB (publ) Koch Media Holding GmbH, seller (Sweden) (Germany) Purchase price EUR 91.5m 100% 100% SALEM einhundertste Koch Media GmbH, Operations Holding GmbH operative company (Austria) 100% (Austria) Pre-transaction Transaction Transaction information . Purchase price of EUR 91.5m – EUR 66m in cash paid at closing – EUR 16m in cash paid no later than August 14, 2018 – EUR 9.5m in shares paid no later than June 15, 2018 .
    [Show full text]
  • Embracer Group Förvärvar Flying Wild Hog
    EJ FÖR OFFENTLIGGÖRANDE, PUBLICERING ELLER DISTRIBUTION, HELT ELLER DELVIS, DIREKT ELLER INDIREKT, INOM ELLER TILL USA, AUSTRALIEN, KANADA, NYA ZEELAND, HONGKONG, JAPAN, SYDAFRIKA ELLER I NÅGON ANNAN JURISDIKTION DÄR SÅDANT OFFENTLIGGÖRANDE, PUBLICERING ELLER DISTRIBUTION SKULLE VARA I STRID MED GÄLLANDE REGLER ELLER KRÄVA YTTERLIGARE REGISTRERING ELLER ANDRA ÅTGÄRDER. Pressmeddelande Karlstad, 18 november 2020 Embracer Group förvärvar Flying Wild Hog Embracer Group AB ("Embracer"), genom sitt helägda dotterbolag Koch Media GmbH, har idag ingått avtal om förvärv av 100 procent av aktierna i det Polen- baserade Flying Wild Hog ("FWH") från Supernova Capital LLP. Flying Wild Hog är en välrenommerad och växande oberoende polsk utvecklare av AA+ spel för PC och konsol, såsom den kritikerrosade Shadow Warrior-serien. FWH arbetar för närvarande på fyra projekt tillsammans med andra välrenommerade externa förläggare. Genom förvärvet välkomnar Embracer ett ansett team om över 260 anställda i tre studios i Polen som bidrar med en solid plattform i en viktig och växande hubb för spelutveckling i Europa. Den initiala köpeskillingen uppgår till 135,2 och motsvarar 137,2 MUSD på en kassa och skuldfri basis och betalas kontant till Supernova Capital, som är en välkänd private equity-firma i spelbranschen. Därutöver har ett incitamentsprogram för ledningspersoner etablerats för att förena intressena framgent. Incitamentsprogrammet uppgår till totalt 7,1 MUSD i B-aktier i Embracer och är föremål för uppfyllande av överenskomna milstolpar och åtaganden att kvarstå i FWH under de kommande fem åren. “Flying Wild Hog har varit på vår radar under många år på grund av deras talang men också på grund av deras förmåga att skala upp med fortsatt hög kvalitet.
    [Show full text]
  • THQ Nordic Acquires Coffee Stain
    NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, NEW ZEALAND, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL OR WOULD REQUIRE REGISTRATION OR ANY OTHER MEASURES. Press release Karlstad (Sweden), November 14, 2018 THQ Nordic acquires Coffee Stain THQ Nordic AB today has entered into agreement to acquire Coffee Stain Holding AB including 100 percent of its subsidiary Coffee Stain Publishing AB. Coffee Stain is a leading game developer and publisher with a growing footprint in the Nordics. The acquisition includes Intellectual property rights to Satisfactory, Goat Simulator, Sanctum and publishing rights to Deep Rock Galactic. The initial cash consideration is equivalent to SEK 317 million on a cash and debt free basis, plus additional earn-out considerations subject to fulfilment of agreed milestones. THQ Nordic estimates Coffee Stain will have net sales in the range of SEK 200-250 million and EBT in the range of SEK 100-150 million in the next financial year. "We are creating a complementary digital native pillar to THQ Nordic. Coffee Stain is a passionate and highly competent team creating and publishing great games. After some years without major releases the pipeline of new game releases such as Satisfactory and Deep Rock Galactic look strong. I look forward to work together with Anton Westbergh and his team in the future" says Lars Wingefors, CEO THQ Nordic. The transaction in brief • THQ Nordic AB ("THQ Nordic" or the "Company") acquires 100 percent of the shares in both Coffee Stain Holding AB ("CSH") and Coffee Stain Publishing AB ("CSP") (CSH and CSP jointly referred to as "Coffee Stain").
    [Show full text]
  • Weekly News Digest #47
    INVESTGAME Nov 16 — Nov 22, 2020 Weekly News Digest #47 Hi everyone, Last week we decided to create the archive of the weekly newsletter for your convenience — click here to access it. Roblox to go public on the New York Stock Exchange CA­based video game platform Roblox has filed its S­1 registration documents targeting an IPO on NYSE before the end of this year. Roblox has neither disclosed the sum it’s planning to raise, nor the valuation of the company. Founded in 2004, Roblox Corporation has raised $335.9m investments over the course of 8 rounds with the most recent Series G round closed in Feb 2020 — raising $150m at a $4B post­money valuation. Just eight months later in Oct 2020, Roblox’s rumored potential IPO valuation was said to be $8B. Such an impressive valuation enhancement could be explained by the strong demand for entertainment content due to COVID­19 and shelter­in­place orders (Roblox’s DAUs increased by 90% from 19.1m in Q4’19 to 36.2m DAU in Q3’20). The company’s financial results over the last twelve months ending 30 Sep 2020 are: > $1,477m Bookings vs. $727m Revenue — Roblox gradually recognizes revenue over the average lifetime of a paying user; > ($245m) Loss from operations vs. +$301m Free cash flow. Roblox is an operationally profitable business (taking into account bookings numbers), and we consider the rumored $8B as a probable valuation at IPO. The valuation multiples in such case would be 5.4x Bookings, 11.0x Revenue, and 27x Free cash flow.
    [Show full text]
  • THQ Nordic Acquires the German Game Developer and Publisher Handygames
    Press release Karlstad, Sweden, July 9, 2018 THQ Nordic acquires the German game developer and publisher HandyGames THQ Nordic GmbH today announced the acquisition of the game developer and publisher HandyGames, headquartered in Giebelstadt, Germany. THQ Nordic GmbH is acquiring 100% of the shares for a total cash consideration of 1 million euro. In addition, the parties have agreed a potential performance based earnout of up to 1.5 million euro. Founded in 2000, HandyGames has released more than 150 games on a multitude of platforms, utilizing a wide range of technologies. Current game development is focused on iOS, Android, Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, HTC Vive, tablet computers, Android TV, Wearables as well as digital-only releases on next generation consoles. The company currently has about 50 employees. HandyGames will continue operating as a developer and publisher for value-priced projects under the management of THQ Nordic GmbH in Vienna. For more information about HandyGames, please visit https://www.handy-games.com/en/ For additional information, please contact: Lars Wingefors, Group CEO Tel: +46 708 471 978 E-mail: [email protected] About THQ Nordic THQ Nordic acquires, develops and publishes PC and console games for the global games market. The company is a major player within game and partner publishing with an extensive catalogue of over 100 owned franchises, such as Saints Row, Dead Island, Homefront, Darksiders, Metro (exclusive license), Titan Quest, MX vs ATV, Red Faction, Delta Force, Destroy All Humans, ELEX, Biomutant, Jagged Alliance, SpellForce, The Guild amongst others. THQ Nordic has a global publishing reach within marketing, sales and distribution, both online and offline.
    [Show full text]