PRESS RELEASE: NACON ACQUIRES DAEDALIC ENTERTAINMENT, A LEADING VIDEO GAME PUBLISHER AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIO FOR 53 MILLION EUROS
February 16 2022 - 1:17PM
PRESS RELEASE: NACON ACQUIRES DAEDALIC ENTERTAINMENT, A LEADING
VIDEO GAME PUBLISHER AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIO FOR 53 MILLION EUROS
NACON ACQUIRES DAEDALIC
ENTERTAINMENT,
A LEADING VIDEO GAME PUBLISHER AND
DEVELOPMENT STUDIO FOR 53 MILLION
EUROS
This operation represents
the biggest external growth
yet for Nacon and is in
line with its development
strategy in the video game industry
Already partners in the publishing of one of the
most anticipated games of 2022, The Lord of the Rings™:
Gollum™, the two companies decided to tighten their
collaboration. This transaction will enable NACON to acquire
several key intellectual properties and to benefit from Daedalic
Entertainments remarkable publishing and game development
expertise.
The integration into the NACON group will enable
the studio to grow its awards-winning development team and
strengthen its position as a leading indie publisher.
Carsten Fichtelmann, Founder and CEO, and
Stephan
Harms, COO will continue to run the
company with a high degree of autonomy in development and
publishing. NACON will support the future projects by combining
forces through its sales, publishing and marketing teams.
Daedalic
Entertainment, an award-winning
studio and world-renowned indie
publisher.Founded
in 2007 and based in Hamburg, Daedalic Entertainment has developed
and published more than 90 games and is one of Germany’s largest
and oldest independent video game companies with a talented team of
87 people. The studio has developed games for renowned franchises
such as Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth but is also well
known for its own IPs including the Deponia series, Shadow Tactics,
Blackguards and The Whispered World.
Daedalic Entertainment’s reputable publishing
division manages a diverse catalogue of premium games across PC and
consoles. The publisher is a household name in the indie publishing
realm with strong single- and multiplayer titles such as Witch It!,
Unrailed!, Partisans 1941, Hidden Deep, Iratus: Lord of the Dead
and Barotrauma. The company has a large global footprint with North
America and China being the strongest markets. Daedalic
Entertainment has currently nine additional new games announced for
release in 2022.
In 2019, Daedalic Entertainment first announced
its collaboration with Middle-earth Enterprises, a division of The
Saul Zaentz Company. The Lord of the Rings™: Gollum™ is the first
video game to be born out of the partnership, with scope for more
new experiences in the future.
Through this strategic acquisition, the biggest
ever made by the company, NACON strengthens its position as a
leader in AA games and benefits from the synergies between the two
publishing houses with complimentary profiles to solidify its
position as a leading gaming brand. This integration of a 16th
studio in less than 4 years will significantly boost NACON’s
portfolio and will optimize the group’s operating income.
Terms and conditions of
the transaction
The first step of the deal was the signature of
a Letter of Intent with exclusivity of negotiation.
The acquisition of 100% of the share capital and
voting rights of Daedalic Entertainment will have an overall
maximum price of 53M€ on the basis of:
-
a net price of 32M€ in cash upon signature;
-
an earn-out payable for 100% in cash, based on performance until
2026
Final completion of the transaction is expected
to take place in 2022, subject to usual conditions precedent.
The Board of Directors of NACON approved the
completion of this transaction and will reconvene at the time of
the final closing of the transaction.
"We knew, through our current collaboration on
Gollum, that NACON and Daedalic share the same values and the same
objectives to deliver unique experiences to gamers. Therefore, it
seemed logical to go further together and we’re extremely happy of
this acquisition. It represents a significant step in Nacon's
strategy." says Alain Falc, Chairman and CEO of NACON.
"After eventful years in which we always came
out on top, I feel proud looking back at the past 15 years and the
development of the company. Daedalic Entertainment has established
itself as a publisher and developer of exceptional games across
various genres and on all relevant platforms and has cemented that
position globally. Together with Nacon, we are now taking the next
step to further develop our catalogue of games created by our own
team as well as many incredible indie studios. We are looking back
at a trusting and cooperative collaboration on The Lord of the
Rings™: Gollum™ and forward to an even brighter future together."
says Carsten Fichtelmann founder and CEO, Daedalic
Entertainment.
* * *
Next Publication
:
Q4 2021/22 Sales: 25 April 2022, Press release
after close of the Paris stock exchange
ABOUT
NACON |
2020-21 ANNUAL SALES177.8
M€ HEADCOUNTOver 800
employees INTERNATIONAL20 subsidiaries
and a distribution network across 100
countrieshttps://corporate.nacongaming.com/ |
NACON is a company of the BIGBEN Group founded in 2019 to
optimize its know-how through strong synergies in the video game
market. By bringing together its 16 development studios, the
publishing of AA video games, the design and distribution of
premium gaming devices, NACON focuses 30 years of expertise at the
service of players. This new unified business unit strengthens
NACON's position in the market, enables it to innovate by creating
new unique competitive advantages. Company
listed on Euronext Paris, compartment B ISIN :
FR0013482791 ; Reuters : NACON.PA ; Bloomberg :
NACON:FP PRESS CONTACTCap Value – Gilles
Broquelet gbroquelet@capvalue.fr - +33 1 80 81 50 01 |
About Daedalic
Entertainment
Daedalic Entertainment publishes and develops
high-quality games for all platforms. The company has a diverse
line-up of high-quality titles, including classic adventures, RPGs,
and strategy and multiplayer games.
Based in Hamburg, Germany, Daedalic is one of
Europe’s most acclaimed publishers and developers. With a total of
32 awards in the German Developers Award (including multiple
accolades for 'Studio of the Year') and 12 German Computer Game
Awards for genre-defining games such as Deponia, Edna & Harvey,
Silence, Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun, Ken Follett's The
Pillars of the Earth, The Long Journey Home, and State of Mind,
Daedalic is a record holder for the two most prestigious game
awards in Germany. Recent publishing hits include Barotrauma,
Unrailed!, Iratus: Lord of the Dead, Hidden Deep and more.
Daedalic is currently developing the AAA title
The Lord of the Rings™: Gollum™. The action-adventure tells the
story of Gollum from a perspective never witnessed before in any
storytelling media, all the while staying faithful to the legendary
books of J.R.R. Tolkien.
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