Keywords Studios PLC Acquisition (8634Q)
June 11 2018 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMKWS
RNS Number : 8634Q
Keywords Studios PLC
11 June 2018
11 June 2018
Keywords Studios plc ("Keywords", "the Group")
Acquisition of Blindlight
Keywords goes to Hollywood
Keywords Studios, the international technical services provider
to the global video games industry, today announces that it has
acquired Blindlight LLC ("Blindlight") for a total consideration of
up to $10m, from the founder, Lev Chapelsky (the "Seller").
Founded in 2001 and based in Hollywood, California, Blindlight
enjoys a leading position in the provision of Hollywood production
services for the video games industry. The company works on behalf
of game publishers and developers in procuring specialised talent
and managing the entire production processes for the parts of games
that benefit from Hollywood production resources. Blindlight's
service disciplines include voiceover production, celebrity
acquisition and rights management, game writing, music, sound
design and motion capture.
Blindlight works with top game producers around the world
(including Bethesda, NCSoft, Sony Interactive Entertainment, and
Ubisoft) making the creative expertise of Hollywood readily
available for the video games industry. The addition of Blindlight
to the Group will increase the value of the services provided by
Keywords and contribute to making those services more accessible to
a wider customer base.
Blindlight achieved EBITDA of an average of $1m per annum over
the three-year period to 31 December 2017. Under the terms of the
acquisition Keywords is paying an initial $3.64m in cash and will
issue 64,521 new ordinary shares in Keywords to the Seller on the
first anniversary of the acquisition which will then be subject to
orderly market provisions for a further 12 months. Deferred
consideration of up to $4.8m will be payable to the Seller in cash
depending on the performance of the business in the 12-month
periods to the first and second anniversaries of the
acquisition.
Andrew Day, CEO of Keywords Studios commented:
"Keywords and Blindlight have got to know each other well over
the past three years and we see good opportunities to leverage both
businesses to offer a wider range of world leading services to our
clients. We are delighted to welcome Lev and the rest of the team
to the Keywords family.
"Following our recent acquisition of music services companies,
Cord Worldwide and Laced, we see excellent opportunities for
Blindlight to bring these services to Los Angeles, as well as
providing access to further opportunities for our downstream
production services of translation and localised voice over."
For further information, please contact:
Keywords Studios (www.keywordsstudios.com)
Andrew Day, Chief Executive Officer
David Broderick, Chief Financial Officer
Giacomo Duranti, Chief Operating Officer +353 190 22 730
Numis (Financial Adviser)
Stuart Skinner / Kevin Cruickshank
(Nominated Adviser)
James Black / Tom Ballard (Corporate
Broker) 020 7260 1000
MHP Communications (Financial PR) 020 3128 8100
Katie Hunt / Ollie Hoare keywords@mhpc.com
About Keywords Studios (www.keywordsstudios.com)
Keywords Studios is an international technical services provider
to the global video games industry. Established in 1998, and now
with over 40 facilities in 20 countries strategically located in
Asia, the Americas and Europe, it provides integrated art creation,
software engineering, testing, localisation, audio and customer
care services across more than 50 languages and 16 games platforms
to a blue-chip client base of approximately 650 clients across the
globe. It has a strong market position, providing services to 23 of
the top 25 most prominent games companies, including Activision
Blizzard, Bandai Namco, Bethesda, Electronic Arts, Konami, Riot
Games, Sony, Square Enix, Supercell, TakeTwo, and Ubisoft. Recent
titles worked on include Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Call of Duty:
WWII, Mortal Combat X, Assassin's Creed Origins, Battlefield 1,
League of Legends, Fortnite, Clash Royale, and Mobile Strike.
Keywords Studios is listed on AIM, the London Stock Exchange
regulated market (KWS.L).
About Blindlight (www.blindlight.com)
Founded in 2001, Blindlight provides any service that video game
producers need from Hollywood: voiceover production, celebrity
acquisition, performance capture, story development, scriptwriting,
or music production. Located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood,
it's the leading SAG-AFTRA signatory service provider for the games
industry and has maintained a key position in its market for 18
years. Notable game series the company has contributed to include
The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Guild Wars, Splinter Cell, Tomb Raider,
Destiny, and Halo.
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END
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