Comment on Embracer will split into three companies, including Middle-earth & Friends
InquisitiveApathy@lemm.ee 6 months ago
Those companies are: Asmodee Group, which comprises Embracer’s tabletop games biz; Coffee Stain & Friends, an evolution of the existing Coffee Stain publisher, who will pursue “a dual focus on indie and A/AA premium and free-to-play games for PC/console and mobile”; and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends, “a creative powerhouse in AAA game development and publishing for PC and console, as well as the stewards of The Lord of the Rings and Tomb Raider intellectual properties, among many others”.
Besides, I’m not sure how much of this is Embracer “breaking up” versus Embracer moving the pieces around. Even as Embracer trisect themselves, the investment firm run by CEO and cofounder Lars Wingefors will keep their current holdings within the group - “approximately 20% of capital and 40% of votes” – and will form “a new long-term ownership structure” so as to “remain a long-term, active, committed and supportive owner of all three entities."
- The entities will have sufficient scale, coupled with clearer operational strategies and financial profiles that enable simplified equity stories to attract a larger pool of investors. Current shareholders can freely decide on their capital allocation between the three entities.
- Each entity will be able to fully utilize its own balance sheet, its own set of financial targets and optimal financing structure and capital allocation strategy that enable their growth ambitions.
Tldr: Embracer is breaking into three sub-companies each with a focus on specific parts of the industry - indie, A/AA, AAA. Smaller games won’t be punished for poor performance and management of larger projects because of separate balance sheets(allegedly). Leadership is still basically the same.