Acquisition

RNS Number : 5983P

Keywords Studios PLC

30 May 2018

 

30 May 2018

Keywords Studios plc ("Keywords", "the Group")

     Acquisition of Fire Without Smoke

Strengthening the Group's Art Services Line

Keywords Studios, the international technical services provider to the global video games industry, today announces that it has acquired Fire Without Smoke Ltd ("Fire Without Smoke") for a total consideration of up to £5.2m from the founders Will O'Connor, Michael David Thomson and others (the "Sellers").

Headquartered in London and with a studio in Montreal, Fire Without Smoke provides a full suite of creative and marketing services to game publishers and developers, creating assets such as game trailers, marketing art and materials for esports events, and providing marketing consultancy and general design services to the video game industry.

Founded in 2013 and now with [40] staff between London and Montréal, Fire Without Smoke works with major game publishers such as Sony, Square Enix, Riot Games, Deep Silver, Sega, Capcom and Ubisoft.

Will O'Connor will continue as Managing Director and the other founders, together with the rest of the talented team, will also remain with the business. 

For the year ending 31 May 2018, Fire Without Smoke is expected to have revenues of £2.8m and adjusted profits before tax of £0.7m.  

Under the terms of the acquisition Keywords is paying a consideration comprised of £3.85m in cash, £0.5m of which is deferred until the first anniversary of acquisition and subject to certain performance targets, and the issue of 77,006 new ordinary shares in Keywords, which will be issued to the Sellers on the first anniversary of the acquisition and will then be subject to orderly market provisions for a further 12 months.

Andrew Day, CEO of Keywords Studios commented:

"Fire Without Smoke's specialised offering represents an excellent addition to the Group's existing capabilities and adds some exciting new services to our global service platform. Their high end video game trailers expertise will be of great interest to Keywords' large client base, as will their broad suite of creative services, which range from marketing strategy to providing marketing content for events including esports tournaments, which can play a significant role in influencing the success of event and game launches.

"We are delighted to welcome the talented and passionate teams of Fire Without Smoke to the Keywords family as we continue to build the business in London, in Montreal and in other Keywords locations around the world."

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	[phone]
Numis (Financial Adviser) Stuart Skinner / Kevin Cruickshank  (Nominated Adviser) James Black / Tom Ballard (Corporate Broker)	020 7260 1000
MHP Communications (Financial PR) Katie Hunt / Ollie Hoare	020 3128 8100 [e-mail]

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 Fire Without Smoke (www.firewithoutsmoke.com)

Founded in 2013 by video game passionate advertising veterans, Fire Without Smoke is a creative games agency that has been providing high quality creative services and exciting content for some of the best and biggest titles around, such as The Last of Us, League of Legends, The Division, Just Cause and Assassin's Creed.

 

END

 

 

ACQUKAWRWVAVUAR