Embracer Group enters into an agreement to acquire Bytex
Embracer Group AB (”Embracer”), through its wholly owned subsidiary Saber Interactive (“Saber”)[1] , has entered into an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the shares in Bytex Limited Liability Company from its current owners. Bytex is a reputable Quality Assurance (“QA”) and Work for hire-developer studio based in Saransk, Russia. Through the acquisition, Saber adds capabilities by onboarding a skilled team of more than 240 employees.
[1] Acquired through Embracer's wholly owned subsidiary Embracer Group Lager 2 AB and will be part of the Saber Interactive Group.
”We have worked with Bytex for many years and they’ve been a fantastic partner during our growth in the last 14 months. I’m thrilled they are now part of the Saber family, and hope they are a resource for the wider Embracer Group” says Andrey Iones, COO and co-founder of Saber Interactive.
Background and rationale
Bytex is a veteran studio based in Saransk, Russia The company was established in 2004 by Dmitri Karasev, who today continues to lead the company as its CEO. Bytex is currently comprised of approximately 240 employees, with 190 being engineers.
Bytex offers full QA capabilities throughout the game development process across all platforms. The team has worked on many successful projects together with Saber including SnowRunner, WWE 2K Battlegrounds, NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 and World War Z.
The company was owned by a combination of the founder, current management, and other investors. Within Embracer Group, Bytex will operate as a subsidiary under Saber. With a strong presence in Russia and throughout Eastern Europe, the acquisition of Bytex further strengthens Saber’s footprint in the region.
“Having worked alongside Saber for years, it’s become obvious that we share the same work ethic and love for games,” said Dmitri Karasev, CEO and co-founder of Bytex. "Joining Andrey and his team feels like a natural evolution, so we look forward to supporting Saber‘s studios as well as collaborating with other developers across Embracer Group.”
Purchase Price
The parties have agreed not to disclose specific terms due to commercial reasons. The terms and conditions for the acquisition are in line with previous Embracer transactions.
Completion of the transaction
Transaction is subject to certain conditions and is estimated to be completed by the end of September 2021.
Advisers
Ernst & Young AB is providing transaction support and Baker McKenzie is acting as legal counsel to Embracer in the transaction.
For additional information, please contact:
Lars Wingefors, Co-founder and Group CEO Embracer Group AB
Tel: +46 708 47 19 78
E-mail: lars.wingefors@embracer.com
Andrey Iones, COO and Co-founder of Saber Interactive
E-mail: iones@saber3d.com
Dmitri Karasev, CEO of Bytex
E-mail: d.karasev@bytexgames.ru
About Embracer Group
Embracer Group is the parent company of businesses developing and publishing PC, console and mobile games for the global games market. The Group has an extensive catalogue of over 240 owned franchises, such as Saints Row, Goat Simulator, Dead Island, Darksiders, Metro, MX vs ATV, Kingdoms of Amalur, TimeSplitters, Satisfactory, Wreckfest, Insurgency, World War Z and Borderlands, amongst many others.
With its head office based in Karlstad, Sweden, Embracer Group has a global presence through its eight operative groups: THQ Nordic GmbH, Koch Media GmbH/Deep Silver, Coffee Stain AB, Amplifier Game Invest, Saber Interactive, DECA Games, Gearbox Entertainment and Easybrain. The Group has 80 internal game development studios and is engaging more than 8,500 employees and contracted employees in more than 40 countries.
Embracer Group’s shares are publicly listed on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Stockholm under the ticker EMBRAC B with FNCA Sweden AB as its Certified Adviser; info@fnca.se +46-8-528 00 399.
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