Starbreeze AB: Starbreeze acquires French virtual reality, augmented reality and toys-to-life technology company ePawn for 4 MEUR in Starbreeze shares and 1.5 MEUR in cash
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN (June 30, 2016) Starbreeze AB, an independent creator
publisher and distributor of high quality entertainment products, today
announced its acquisition of the French toys to life, VR and augmented reality
tech company ePawn for a total consideration of 4 MEUR (approximately 37.8 MSEK)
in Starbreeze B-shares and 1.5 MEUR (approximately 14.2 MSEK) in cash.
To complete the deal, the Board resolved to issue 1 901 656 B-shares under its
mandate from the AGM, based on a market share price determined at SEK 19.90 and
an exchange rate of 9.461. The issue represents 0.7% of the capital and 0.2% of
the votes on a fully diluted basis.
"With ePawn, we will significantly diversify our virtual reality and toys-to-
life offerings, as well as speed up the development of existing internal
projects already in the works," said Bo Andersson Klint, Starbreeze CEO. "The
ePawn team has already innovated and productified their technologies and we
acquire not only many good ways of applying them, but also a solid portfolio of
patents that will benefit Starbreeze for many years to come."
ePawn is a next generation VR and toys-to-life company merging real life gaming
experiences with their digital counter part through its gaming boards and mats
in table and room scale sizes. ePawn's patented technology captures everything
that happens on the game board and feeds digital applications with information.
Up to 40 objects equipped with off-the-shelf NFC (Near Field Communication) tags
can simultaneously be put into play on a game board and ePawn's technology will
calculate their position, orientation and altitude in real-time and at the
millimeter level. ePawn has developed several versions of its technology to fit
many gaming-related markets, such as video games, toys, board games and greatly
enchanted augmented reality support between for example a toy and a mobile
device.
Virtual reality applications include large and flexible flooring tiles that can
be assembled to equip spaces with a solution for affordable positioning system
capable of tracking several people in a room.
"For ePawn, I especially appreciate the location based entertainment
applications, where for example the VR-mat will enable us to offer even more
immersive experiences in our VR-centers," said Emmanuel Marquez, Starbreeze CTO.
"Additionally, the toys-to-life applications are numerous and the ability to
technically track physical objects in our future games, such as Geminose, are
really promising. The potential to be able to add augmented reality components
to further enhance the gameplay for mobile devices are really exciting."
With the acquisition comes seven registered patents and nine staff located in
Paris, France. An additional earn-out consideration will be paid to the selling
shareholders based on performance of the business in the coming years. The
acquisition is not expected to significantly impact Starbreeze financial
performance in near-term but is expected to unlock synergies related to several
of Starbreeze ongoing and future projects and thereby generate incremental
revenues long-term.
###
Media assets:
ePawn acquisition announcement video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/hBqsn12rjqI
For more information, please contact:
Maeva Sponbergs, EVP of Communication and Head of Investor Relations, Starbreeze
AB
Tel: +46(0)8-209 208, email: ir(at)starbreeze.com
About Starbreeze:
Starbreeze is an independent creator, publisher and distributor of high quality
entertainment products. With studios in Stockholm, Paris and Los Angeles, the
company creates games and other virtual reality entertainment products, based on
proprietary design and licensed content. Starbreeze's most recent games include
PAYDAY 2, the adrenaline fueled bank robbing co-op game and the upcoming John
Wick VR shooter and survival co-op FPS OVERKILL's The Walking Dead.
Starbreeze has set out to develop truly immersive virtual reality experiences,
by integrating software and hardware in its StarVR head mounted display, to be
produced together with Acer, displaying a unique field of vision and a mission
to bring top-end VR to large audiences. Starbreeze launched StarVR with a VR-
experience at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in June 2015, gained by
teaming up with French Infinite Eye. In January 2016, Starbreeze unveiled the
StarCade initiative; centers that invites people to immerse themselves into
premium VR experiences. The first cinematic VR experience "Cockatoo Spritz"
directed by Stephane Barbato, premiered at the 69(th) Cannes Film Festival 2016.
Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Starbreeze's shares are listed on Nasdaq
Stockholm First North Premier under the tickers STAR A and STAR B with the ISIN-
codes SE0007158928 (A-share) and SE0005992831 (B-share). Remium Nordic is the
company's Certified Adviser. For more information, please visit
http://www.starbreeze.com, http://www.starvr.com,
http://www.overkillsoftware.com
This announcement is distributed by GlobeNewswire on behalf of
GlobeNewswire clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Starbreeze AB via GlobeNewswire
[HUG#2024465]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 30.06.2016 - 17:31 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 481093
Anzahl Zeichen: 6186
contact information:
Town:
Stockholm
Kategorie:
Business News
Diese Pressemitteilung wurde bisher 269 mal aufgerufen.
Die Pressemitteilung mit dem Titel:
"Starbreeze AB: Starbreeze acquires French virtual reality, augmented reality and toys-to-life technology company ePawn for 4 MEUR in Starbreeze shares and 1.5 MEUR in cash"
steht unter der journalistisch-redaktionellen Verantwortung von
Starbreeze AB (Nachricht senden)
Beachten Sie bitte die weiteren Informationen zum Haftungsauschluß (gemäß TMG - TeleMedianGesetz) und dem Datenschutz (gemäß der DSGVO).
