Starbreeze AB, an independent creator, publisher and distributor of high quality entertainment products, staffs up its Los Angeles Studio with a team of 20 highly skilled developers, through the acquisition of Orange Grove Media and its owners. The total consideration of the acquisitions amount to 3.6 million B-shares in Starbreeze, equivalent to approx. 7.2 MUSD (59.4 MSEK).
Team members are a highly skilled group of industry veterans where the Point of Origin team will primarily work on OVERKILL's The Walking Dead. The Point of Origin team is made up of a group of AAA Senior FPS Developers with over 100 years of combined Game Development experience. Additionally, the LA Narrative Team brings in a group of story tool and narrative specialists, adding invaluable expertise in game story telling. The Narrative will be lead by Almir Listo, Global Brand Director at Starbreeze.
The acquisition also contains an all new IP titled The Hunt - Assault on Mythos. In the future, a mysterious island appears in the Bermuda triangle. The military discovers that it is inhabited by mythological creatures, thus naming it Mythos. As a part of a 4-man crew, the game sets players on a dangerous path where combatants must cooperate to survive mythical challenges, collect trophies and leave victorious. The game is a 4-player co-op action FPS.
"With the LA team we get a narrative team which will do wonders for our existing brands PAYDAY 2 as well as OVERKILL's The Walking Dead. They will also be integral in understanding and developing a narrative that works in a virtual environment. There are a lot more stories to be told in our universes and having a narrative team focusing on this is very exciting." says Almir Listo, Global Brand Director of Starbreeze Studios.
"With this acquisition we gain a veteran team that already have shown their value as an in-sourced team. Through our close collaboration we have ensured we can seamlessly integrate them with the rest of the team at Starbreeze and OVERKILL. Making sure they are a part of our future is a defining part of our strategy for OVERKILL's The Walking Dead and is vital in order to cement our position in Los Angeles." said Bo Andersson, CEO of Starbreeze Studios.
Shares will be issued under mandate from the AGM. The 3.6 million new B shares will be issued after the split of shares into series A and B has come into effect, and will represent 1.6% of total number of shares and an increase of share capital with 72 000 SEK. The sellers have agreed to retain their shares for 1, 2 and 3 years respectively.
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For more information, please contact:
Starbreeze Investor Relations Contact: Maeva Sponbergs, Investor Relations, Starbreeze AB. Tel: +46(0)8-209 208, email: ir@starbreeze.com
Brief information about Starbreeze:
Starbreeze is an independent creator, publisher and distributor of high quality entertainment products, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. At Starbreeze we create games by our own design and through licensed content, establishing franchises that can live and prosper outside the game itself. We live and die by gameplay.
Starbreeze is pioneering digital self-publishing, currently hosting one of the largest community groups on the digital distribution platform Steam. Starbreeze's most recent products include PAYDAY 2, our adrenaline fuelled bank robbing co-op game and the critically acclaimed Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons.
Starbreeze AB is publicly traded on Nasdaq Stockholm First North Premier under the ticker STAR and the ISIN code: SE0005992831. Remium Nordic is the companys Certified Adviser. Starbreeze brands include OVERKILL Software and the PAYDAY series.
For more information, please visit http://www.starbreeze.com.
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