Embracer Group snaps up Perfect World Entertainment through Gearbox, as well as four other companies
Embracer Group’s shopping spree continues. The Swedish holding has acquired five companies, including publisher Dark Horse and Perfect World Entertainment. The latter will become a part of Gearbox Entertainment in a deal worth $125 million.
Neverwinter
Perfect World Entertainment
- Embracer will pay Perfect World Europe, which controlled Perfect World Entertainment, $60 million in cash and $65 million in B shares. The deal is expected to close in February 2022.
- Perfect World Entertainment is a US subsidiary of Chinese media company Perfect World, known for various MMORPGs.
- As a result, all 237 PWE employees will join Gearbox, which was acquired by Embracer for $1.38 billion earlier this year.
- The US company has two main divisions: PWE Publishing, which publishes games based on the Star Trek and D&D franchises, as well as titles like Remnant: From the Ashes and the Torchlight series; and Cryptic Studios, known for three MMO games, Neverwinter, Star Trek Online, and Champions Online.
Dark Horse
- Embracer will buy 80% of the Dark Horse shares from a seller based in Hong Kong and China. It will acquire the remaining 20% from the publisher’s CEO Mike Richardson and COO Neil Hankerson, with both of them staying at the company.
- The financial terms of the deal, which will be completed in early 2022, remain undisclosed.
- Dark Horse will become the tenth operative group within Embracer. The other nine are Amplifier, Asmodee, Coffee Stain, DECA Games, Easybrain, Gearbox Entertainment, Koch Media, Saber Interactive, and THQ Nordic.
- Embracer Group will take over the company’s three main divisions: Dark Horse Comics (comics and art books based on IPs like Hellboy, The Mask, Stranger Things, etc.), Dark Horse Entertainment (films and TV series), and Things From Another World (retail and e-commerce division, which sells comics, toys, and other collectibles).
- Dark Horse, which has operated since 1968, owns or controls more than 300 IPs, many of which are suitable for transmedia collaborations. According to Embracer, some of these brands might be used to develop new video games.
Other acquisitions
- Shiver Entertainment will be acquired through Saber Interactive. The studio is known for working on games like Scribblenauts Showdown and Mortal Kombat 11 and is now developing its own titles.
- Animation studio DIGIC will also become a part of Saber. The company, which focuses on making CGI trailers and cinematics, will work on upcoming titles from Saber, Gearbox, THQ Nordic, Coffee Stain, and Koch Media.
- Spotfilm Networx will be acquired through Koch Media. It is a German company, which operates 20 AVOD channels and two SVOD channels.
