Embracer Group: Embracer buys Tomb Raider, Deus Ex & more

The Embracer Group takes over developer studios from Square Enix: Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal & Square Enix Montréal Plus their brands-Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief and Legacy of Kain. For 285 million euros.

This is a pound! Three large studios, eight locations and around 1,100 employees soon belong to the Swedish media group Embracer, who has been on shopping tour for a while. According to the press release, "total purchase price amounts to $ 300 million on a cash and debt-free basis and is fully paid for the conclusion." Above all, the two most important brands affected by the purchase, Tomb Raider (previously 88 million games sold) and Deus Ex, (12 million) make the purchase price appear surprisingly low at first glance.

Lars Wingefors, co-founder and CEO of the Embracer Group, is enthusiastic: _ "We are very happy to welcome these studios in the Embracer Group. We appreciate their brands, the creative talent and their outstanding track record that they have in recent decades have repeatedly demonstrated. It was a great pleasure to meet their management teams and make future plans for how they can realize their ambitions and become a large part of Embracer. ”_

Phil Rogers, CEO of Square Enix America and Europe, Embracer calls "the best -kept secret in the gaming sector" and finds "the group on entrepreneurs perfectly fits our ambitions": You want to develop high -quality games with great people and sustainably the existing franchises lead to new heights. "

Square Enix has already commented on the takeover in a separate press release and states that "the transaction will support the company to adapt to the global changes (...) and for accelerated growth in the company's core business, the entertainment area". In addition, the sale enables increased "investments in areas such as blockchain, AI and cloud."

The core business of Square Enix is: The in -house studios in Japan, the Square Enix External Studios and Square Enix Collective. The clearly lamped ranks on important brands, especially on just cause, Outriders and Life is Strange.