Scandinavia's Leading Game Developer UDS Gains Foothold In the UK - Acquires King Of the Jungle Ltd.

Scandinavia's Leading Game Developer UDS Gains Foothold In the UK - Acquires King Of the Jungle Ltd. [Norrkoping, Sweden, October 19, 2000.] UDS (Unique Development Studios), Scandinavia's leading developer of computer and video games, has acquired the London based game developer King of the Jungle Ltd, UDS Managing Director Thomas Lofblad announced. The acquisition gives UDS a foothold in the important UK market as well as an increased recruitment base. King of the Jungle Ltd. is based in central London and the company has earned a very good reputation in the industry since its foundation in 1995. The company has developed games for Virgin Interactive, GT Interactive and Hasbro Interactive on multiple formats. The acquisition of King of the Jungle signals the start of UDS's international expansion. UDS will pay for the company with their own stock. - King of the Jungle are extremely skillful game developers, and we are most happy to be able to include them in the UDS "family". The acquisition also gives us a foothold in the important British market, with advantages in marketing, sales and recruitment for the whole company, said Thomas Lofblad, Managing Direcor, UDS. - UDS has made strong progress in emergent markets and their forward thinking and adaptable approach to the computer entertainment market as a whole represents an un-missable opportunity to expand our horizons. UDS's financial acuity and backing will enable our continued growth in a well controlled and managed environment, said Stephane Koenig, Managing Director, King of the Jungle Ltd. About UDS UDS, Unique Development Studios AB, was founded in 1997 and is today Scandinavia's leading and most profitable developer of computer-, video- and console games. UDS has more than 70 employees at its headquarters in Norrköping and in Britain. UDS is owned by its founders and employees, and by Slottsbacken Venture Capital, Nordico Invest and Bank of America. UDS has well established partnerships with many of the leading publishing companies in the world, and the company has received several large orders for computer and video games lately. In June, UDS received its largest order ever by being commissioned to develop a computer game for French publishing giant Infogrames based on the popular European comics and cartoon series Asterix & Co. In May, a deal was signed with the listed company Enlight Interactive to develop a 3D computer game based on the famous children's character Mulle Meck. UDS has also recently received an order from the American entertainment giant Fox Interactive for developing a game based on Fox's successful "World's Scariest Police Chases" television series. Other important orders have been signed with Crave Entertainment (Snow Cross, a game based on snowmobile racing) and the world's largest toy manufacturer Mattel (a car racing game). UDS wishes to continue its rapid growth which includes both a strong organic growth and acquisitions of minor interactive entertainment companies. There is also plans a launch of a "gaming community" on the Internet called GlobalFun.com this year. UDS will also develop games for digital TV and cellular phones. About King Of the Jungle The company was established in early 1995 with the aim of producing highly playable and innovative arcade games for the console market. King of the Jungle currently has 12 employees, who between them possess several decades of industry experience and many titles on multiple formats to their credit, most of them receiving the highest press accolades. King of the Jungle is equipped to handle most aspects of game development across multiple formats including initial concept, game design, management, programming, graphics, production, sound effects, music and tools. The company has produced titles like Agent Armstrong (for Virgin Interactive Entertainment), B-Movie (for GT Interactive Software) and Galaga: Destination Earth (for Hasbro Interactive company is already working on next generation architecture, such as the Playstation2, for its new range of 'connected' products to be announced soon. For further information and review copies of UDS' previous games please contact: Thomas Lofblad Managing Director, UDS Ph: +46 11 - 12 31 65 Cellph: +46 708 - 62 44 63 Fax: +46 11 - 12 31 60 E-mail: thomas.lofblad@uds.se Stéphane Koenig Managing Director, King of the Jungle Ltd Ph: +44 (0)20 7371 3710 Cellph: +44 958 927 996 Fax: +44 (0)20 7371 3711 E-mail: steph@kingofthejungle.co.uk Our web site are: www.uds.se and www.kingofthejungle.co.uk ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by BIT http://www.bit.se The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/10/19/20001018BIT00830/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/10/19/20001018BIT00830/bit0002.pdf