Fresh off of the $ 1.3 billion acquisition of Gearbox Entertainment, Embracer Group has also acquired mobile game maker Easybrain in Cyprus for at least $ 640 million.
Under the deal, Easybrain will get $ 640 million in stock and up to $ 125 million in additional consideration, presumably as part of a bonus. It is officially considered a merger deal, given the stock payments.
Easybrain’s senior management — Peter Skoromnyi, Matvey Timoshenko, and Oleg Grushevich — will post-closing, jointly become the third-largest shareholder in Embracer. Easybrain will become Embracer’s eighth operative group as a wholly owned subsidiary and continue to be led by its existing management.
Easybrain’s revenues in 2020 are expected to be $ 210 million, while its earnings before interest and taxes will be $ 70 million.
Easybrain is a mobile game developer with a core focus on advertising-based puzzle and logic games. Easybrain’s titles have more than 750 million installs to date and 12 million daily active users across 15 live games.
Embracer Group paid for the deal in newly issued Embracer B Shares. The sellers will get $ 130 million in stock with no restrictions, $ 220 million in stock that must be held for at least six months, $ 145 million in stock that must be held for a year, and $ 145 million in stock that must be held for two years. If Easybrain hits targets in the next six years, it can get another $ 125 million in stock.
“I am excited to welcome Peter, Matvey, Oleg and the entire Easybrain team to the Embracer family,” said Lars Wingefors, Group CEO of Embracer Group, in a statement. “Easybrain is a highly diversified growth business with a market-leading position in timeless puzzle and logic games. They are an extremely experienced and process-driven team with a superior tech platform and world-class UA capabilities. Easybrain has repeatedly demonstrated the capability to develop, scale globally, and operate category-leading puzzle and logic games. By joining forces with Easybrain, we have meaningfully accelerated Embracer’s mobile and free-to-play business.”
Easybrain is headquartered in Limassol, Cyprus, and it has an office in Minsk, Belarus. It has 230 employees. The game portfolio includes titles with strong long-term retention such as Sudoku.com, Nonogram.com, Blockudoku, and Pixel Art. The company recently expanded the portfolio with several releases in 2020, including new titles such as Art Puzzle, Killer Sudoku and Nonogram.com Color.
“We are delighted that Easybrain merges with Embracer. We are extremely proud of the team that brought our business to what it is today, and now we feel it’s time to become part of something bigger,” said Grushevich, in a statement. “We are positive that our future efforts will contribute greatly to the group results and are excited to be part of such a great group of entrepreneurs under Lars’ leadership.”
Aream & Co. was an adviser for Easybrain.
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