Officially: Embracer Group will sell part of Saber Interactive and completely leave Russia
The Swedish holding company Embracer Group announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell a number of Saber Interactive assets for 2.57 billion Swedish kronor or $ 247 million.
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What is now known about the deal:
- The buyer is Beacon Interactive, a company controlled by Matthew Karch, one of the founders of Saber Interactive;
- Embracer Group will sell all studios operating under the Saber Interactive brand to Beacon Interactive, as well as a number of its "daughters". Among them are DIGIC, Fractured Byte, Mad Head Games, New World Interactive, Nimble Giant, Sandbox Strategies, Slipgate and 3D Realms;
- In addition, Beacon Interactive will receive some proprietary technologies and development tools. The company will also receive 38 projects under development, with a book value of approximately 2.3 billion Swedish kronor ($224 million);
- Embracer Group will retain the companies 4A Games, Aspyr, 34 Big Things, Beamdog, Demiurge, Shiver, Snapshot, Tripwire, Tuxedo Labs and Zen Studios that were previously part of Saber Interactive;
- Embracer Group will also retain 14 games in development with a book value of about 500 million Swedish kronor (48.7 million dollars). Among them are two joint projects with Saber Interactive;
- Beacon Interactive has received the option right to purchase 4A Games and Zen Studios for a pre-agreed fixed price for a certain period of time. It is not reported how much Embracer Group estimated them;
- Embracer Group will be able to claim an additional reward of up to SEK 962 million or $94 million if Beacon Interactive resells Saber Interactive assets for a higher price within the agreed time period;
- as a result of the transaction, Embracer Group finally stopped working in the Russian market. All Russian employees have been transferred to new structures that are fully owned by local management and work exclusively with Beacon Interactive. Embracer Group itself has already begun to liquidate all its divisions in Russia.
"I am glad that we have found a win-win solution for Embracer and those parts of Saber that will now leave us. Thanks to this deal, both companies will be in a better position," said Embracer Group CEO Lars Wingefors.
"According to the decision of the board of directors, Embracer will now be able to cease all its activities in Russia, while many local employees will retain their jobs and continue to work under a new independent owner. At the same time, we will retain key companies, valuable IP and publishing rights for the next games. The holding's cash flow will improve and we will be able to reduce the amount of net debt. The deal will provide additional opportunities for debt amortization in accordance with existing banking agreements and increase financial flexibility. This is the first deal in the restructuring, and it marks a small but important step on our path to transforming Embracer for the benefit of all employees, players and shareholders," Wingefors said in a statement.
Earlier, the Embracer Group's plans to sell Saber Interactive were reported by Bloomberg, citing its sources. The deal was expected to amount to $500 million.
