COPENHAGEN, March 6th, 2019: 5th Planet Games A/S (OMX: FIVEPG) today announced that the company management wishes to acquire multiple successful gaming companies – taking advantage of 5th Planet Games unique position as both a public traded company and an experienced gaming studio.
In order to be an interesting acquisition target, a company must basically fulfill three criteria: First, the company needs to be profitable; second, the company needs to have a proven track record within a game category; and finally, the company needs to have a dedicated and committed team.
The companies which 5th Planet Games are targeting will be allowed to continue with local management. They are to continue independently developing their own business and gaming titles while having the benefits of being part of 5th Planet Games’ larger organization.
There is good reason behind the new strategy. The 2018 merger of 5th Planet Games and Hugo Games has shown that small and medium mobile game developers becomes more effective and efficient when working together. The benefits are obvious: By utilizing the collective force of multiple companies, a game studio will have access to additional talent, more tools, better financing and stronger user acquisition.
Furthermore, well known IP’s and better publishing possibilities can ensure that a game eventually will be played by many more end users. Everybody wins when working together, CEO Henrik Nielsen explains.
“By being a public company, we can not only offer better developing terms for the small and medium sized game developers, but we can also offer a strong liquidity path for the shareholders and founders,” says Henrik Nielsen. “Being part of a public organization, a shareholder/founder can sell part of their shares and still keep control of their company – instead of having to exit the company and give up control totally.”
For the existing shareholders in 5th Planet Games, this new strategy is also an opportunity. As we have seen, the current strategy of developing few games in a single studio has not been successful. Instead, this new strategy will give the company an opportunity to have more games, better developers, use intellectual properties across several games/platforms – thereby improving the chance of become successful with a much stronger company value as a result.
“It is important to understand that it’s not our ambition to build a big bureaucratic and corporate organization. Instead, we want to make sure that we have strong local leadership in control of their own destiny while having access to commercial and business-related help,” says Henrik Nielsen.
Along with the above, 5th Planet Games will also pursue new cooperation agreements and more strategic partnerships with relevant partners that will benefit from the set-up. The new aggressive M&A strategy will of course require access to additional capital, which is work in process. More about this to be announced soon.
About 5th Planet Games: 5th Planet Games (OMX: FIVEPG) is a mobile games developer and publisher located in Copenhagen, Rocklin, Berlin and Nottingham. We cooperate with premium sports brands as FC Barcelona, Liverpool FC, Paris St. Germain and Cristiano Ronaldo. We are proud to expand the world of the TV series Vikings and thrilled to produce sequels to the legendary games Doodle Jump and Dawn of the Dragons. For more information see www.5thplanetgames.com or contact CEO Henrik Nielsen +45 27 200 200
