Embracer Group goes on acquisition spree including Lord of the Rings IP
by Adam Fitch
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Embracer Group/Middle-earth Enterprises
Swedish video game holding company Embracer Group has announced five new acquisitions.
Shopping spree: The company announced five acquisitions on August 18.
- It's entered an agreement to acquire Middle-earth Entreprises, a division of The Saul Zaentz Company that owns IP and rights to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit across motion pictures, video games, board games, merchandising, theme parks, and stage productions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Through its Saber Interactive subsidiary, it has wholly acquired Swedish developer Tuxedo Labs. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- It's entered an agreement, through Saber Interactive, to acquire US developer and publisher Tripwire Interactive wholly. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Through its new Embracer Freemode subsidiary, it's entered an agreement to acquire Sintrix, an L.A.-based company that specializes in "vocal processing effects technology." Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Through Freemode once again, Embracer has an agreement in place to acquire Limited Run Games. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- The upfront purchase price for these companies, as well as another acquisition that's yet to be announced, is $575M (SEK 6B). The total figure, including deferred costs, will "likely" amount to $786M (8.2B SEK).
The company: It's starting to rival Tencent with how much of the gaming industry it owns.
- Embracer Group announced in May 2022 that it would acquire three studios and a host of game IPs from Square Enix for $300M.
- In the same month, the company shared its financial performance for the period spanning April 2021 to March 2022. Net sales grew 89% to $1.7B (SEK 17B), though it made a post-tax loss of $433M (SEK 4.29B) and an operating loss of $374M (SEK 3.7B).
- Other companies under its ownership include Coffee Stain, Dark Horse Media, DECA Games, Gearbox Entertainment, Saber Interactive, and THQ Nordic. It has 120 game development studios and employs over 12,750 employees and contractors.
