Gamigo And Aeria Games To Undergo A Strategic Merger

May 30, 2016 Matt Chelen Comments

In surprising turn of events, Gamigo AG announced today that it and Aeria Games Europe GmbH would be undergoing a strategic merger in an effort to take "the next step toward creating a leading platform on the consolidation of the European games market." As a part of this merger, ProSiebenSat.1 will be "contributing its 100% holding in Aeria Games to gamigo AG and will become a minority shareholder in the merged publisher with a 33 percent stake."

It is unknown at this time whether the merger will have any effect on the companies' current or upcoming titles.

The original press release is as follows.

gamigo AG (“gamigo”, bond ISIN: DE000A1TNJY0) and Aeria Games Europe GmbH, two of the leading European games publishers, have agreed a strategic merger of their companies and are together taking the next step toward creating a leading platform on the consolidation of the European games market. The merger is a logical move for both firms, which have successfully acquired, integrated, and consolidated several games companies and assets in recent years. The agreement is subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities.

Combining the two complementary online and mobile games portfolios will make it possible to tap substantial synergy potential. The joint company has a wide reach, marketing its games in over 40 countries, with a focus on Europe and North America. The new publisher has offices in Berlin, Hamburg, Münster, Seoul, Chicago, and San Francisco. The company boasts numerous strong and popular client and browser games (including Echo of Soul, Fiesta Online, Aura Kingdom, and Desert Operations) as well as titles in the fast-growing mobile segment (including Goal One and Dawn of Gods) and already has various new games in the pipeline (including Diddl and Bless) for the coming years.

The two publishers also complement each other well on the B2B side with portals like browsergames.de and deutschland-spielt.de. The focus in this activity will remain on offering multichannel advertising and platform services.

As part of the transaction, ProSiebenSat.1 is contributing its 100% holding in Aeria Games to gamigo AG and will become a minority shareholder in the merged publisher with a 33 percent stake. ProSiebenSat.1 acquired Aeria Games Europe in February 2014, since when it has pushed ahead with the mobile side of the publisher’s business in particular.

gamigo CEO Remco Westermann comments: “We aim to jointly hone one of the leading European platforms for online and mobile games for international operations. Our synergies are strong and we are planning to generate further profitable revenue growth both organically and by making further acquisitions with a view to extending reach, portfolio, technology, sales channels and partner networks. Together we hold a leading market position.”

Oliver Strutynski, Managing Director of Aeria Games, says: “The merger of gamigo and Aeria Games will give rise to a new, strong player in the international games business with a fantastic line-up.”