PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:
FOCUS HOME INTERACTIVE (Paris:ALFOC) (FR0012419307 ALFOC), a leading French publisher of video games, announced the acquisition of 100% of share capital of Deck13 Interactive GmbH (“Deck13”), incorporated under German law. Deck13 Interactive is a leading German game development studio and long-time partner of Focus Home Interactive. Deck13 employs a team of 60 highly skilled workers and has developed over 20 games in the past 18 years. Deck13 Interactive has developed major successes such as The Surge franchise with Focus Home Interactive and achieved revenue of €5.5 million in the fiscal year ended 31st December 2019.
Jürgen Goeldner, Chairman of the Management Board, declared: “We are very happy to welcome the team of Deck13 and look forward to working together to achieve our ambitious objectives. This acquisition marks a major milestone in our growth story and will strengthen our business model. This acquisition will be financed by the drawing down of the new bank financing of €46 million which will also support our other future developments”.
Jan Klose, Managing Director and co-founder of Deck13, added: “I am delighted to announce that Deck13 is now part of Focus Home Interactive. Our companies have been working together successfully since 2011, developing award winning brands such as The Surge. We are looking forward to leveraging the incredible capabilities of Focus Home Interactive to develop new successes”.
This acquisition fits the EEE strategic plan of the Group and will enable Focus Home Interactive to take full control of the Intellectual Property. In addition, Focus Home Interactive is acquiring its publishing service for indie-developments which will help the Group to explore new opportunities. FHI acquires 100% of Deck13’s share capital for a total amount of €7.1 million (of which €6.5 million in cash from the new banking facility and €0.6 million in shares held in treasury) and a long-term incentive plan for Deck13 managers. The deal was closed today.
As part of its development and acquisition strategy, Focus Home Interactive set up in early February 2020 a financing plan with five banks and Bpifrance Financement for a total amount of €46 million. This financing consists of several credit lines (€23.5 million) and a revolving credit facility (€15 million) and two credit lines (€7.5 million) with Bpifrance Financement. This financing was signed at attractive terms and conditions and the duration of the lenders' commitment, over several years, once again demonstrates the credibility and the robustness of the Group’s business model and the potential of long-term ambitions.
About Deck13 Interactive GmbH
Deck13 Interactive is one of Germany’s leading developers with more than 18 years of experience. With over 60 employees located in Frankfurt, Deck13 Interactive has developed upwards of 20 titles, including major releases such as The Surge and Lords of the Fallen. In the past year the team worked on The Surge 2 and a new unannounced IP.
Under the “Deck13 Spotlight” label the team established a publishing service to help independent developers bring their projects to wider audiences. Deck13 Spotlight is a growing division with an experienced team and access to the whole market. For more than 10 published games such as CrossCode, Deck13 managed Producing, Localization, QA, Marketing, PR & Distribution.
For additional information, visit www.deck13.com
About Focus Home Interactive
FOCUS HOME INTERACTIVE is a leading French publisher of video games. Its vocation is to support leading international studios in the development, production monitoring, marketing, sales and financing of their projects. As a publisher of strong brands such as The Surge, Vampyr, Mudrunner and Call of Cthulhu, the Group generated revenues of €143 million in 2019/20, up 13% compared to the previous comparable period. FOCUS HOME INTERACTIVE generates more than 90% of its sales internationally. For additional information, visit www.focus-home.com
1 Plan described in the press release dated November 27, 2018 available on the Company's website