GUYANCOUT, France & LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Asmodee, the leading worldwide platform in modern boardgames, announced today the signing of a strategic investment into Exploding Kittens, the hit tabletop game creator.
“Exploding Kittens has been a long-time partner of ours, combining amazing creativity and innovation capabilities and the ability to reach a wide audience. We are thrilled to join the Co-founders and The Chernin Group as shareholders of the business, which will enable us to strengthen our go-to-market strategy in the U.S. and more closely collaborate on game design,” said Stéphane Carville, CEO of Asmodee.
Exploding Kittens’ long-standing relationship with Asmodee dates back to 2016 when Asmodee first partnered with the company to distribute its games in Europe. Since then, the two companies have continued to strengthen their partnership with additional distribution and licensing relationships around the world. With this new strategic partnership, the two companies aim to leverage the Exploding Kittens teams’ creative talents and extensive US footprint with Asmodee’s vast array of 21 games studios and its global distribution network with a direct presence in more than 20 countries.
“Since the beginning, Exploding Kittens has aimed to inspire people to put down their screens and connect, laugh, and play in the physical world,” said Elan Lee, Co-Founder and CEO of Exploding Kittens. “Asmodee shares this vision and this new alliance will allow us to leverage their global market expertise and help to expand their hit games’ presence in the U.S.”
PJT Partners served as the sole financial advisor to Exploding Kittens on the transaction. The closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions and approvals, and the companies expect the closing to take place before the end of 2021.
About Asmodee
Asmodee Group is a leading international games publisher and distributor committed to telling amazing stories through great games with over 39 million games sold annually in more than 50 countries. Through our portfolio of iconic game titles, including Catan, Ticket to Ride, Pandemic, Dixit, Splendor, 7 Wonders, Just One, Dobble/Spot it!, Azul and Unlock!, we create a dynamic transmedia experience for players across a variety of digital and physical platforms. Asmodee also creates inspiring and innovative products in partnership with leading entertainment and technology companies. With a global workforce of over 2300 people, Asmodee operates in Europe, North America, South America and Asia. Asmodee is headquartered in Guyancourt, France. Learn more at corporate.asmodee.com.
About Exploding Kittens
Exploding Kittens is a leading game and entertainment company with a mission to inspire people to connect, laugh, and play fun games in the physical world. After initially seeking to raise $10K through Kickstarter, the Exploding Kittens campaign raised $8.7M in 30 days from 219,000 backers. To date, Exploding Kittens is the #1 most-backed project in Kickstarter history and has sold over 18 million games. Started by former Xbox game designer Elan Lee and The Oatmeal’s founder Matthew Inman, Exploding Kittens and its family of games seek to reshape traditional game night into an entertaining person-to-person experience. Today, there are over 20 games available for purchase as well as an Exploding Kittens mobile app that is one of the top 30 premium games on both iOS, Android, and the Nintendo Switch console, as well as a free-to-play app, Kitty Letter.
About The Chernin Group (“TCG”)
Founded by Peter Chernin, Jesse Jacobs, and Mike Kerns, TCG is an investment firm dedicated to building consumer businesses. The TCG team has a track record of working with world-class consumer brands in content, commerce, and consumer-tech, including Exploding Kittens, Food52, MeatEater, Headspace Health, The Pro’s Closet, Everlywell, Surfline and Lovevery.