PRESS RELEASE 18 July 2017
Stillfront acquires German sports management game OFM and enters publishing agreement on Football Empire
Today's agreements on the acquisition of German sports management game OFM, and the publishing agreement with Digamore Entertainment GmbH on Football Empire, is another step in Stillfront's strategy to build a diversified portfolio of studios and products, and to increase the share of own IPs and self-publishing.
Stillfront Group AB (publ) today announces the acquisition of 51% of the business OnlineFussballManager.de ("OFM") through a so-called Asset Purchase. The seller is OnlineFussballManager GmbH. The business will be conducted in the newly formed legal entity OFM Studios GmbH, which is 51% owned by Stillfront Group AB through a wholly-owned subsidiary. The acquisition price paid by OFM Studios GmbH for assets related to OFM is 639 KEUR (cash / debt free). Stillfront Group will issue a loan to OFM Studios GmbH for the financing of the acquisition. OFM will be consolidated into Stillfront's consolidated financial reporting from July 2017.
The OFM business is operated from Cologne, Germany, and was founded 2006 by Maik Dokter, who also owns the remaining 49% of OFM Studios GmbH. OFM is a very well-established brand within the genre football manager games, with a long history of solid revenues and results, and with a large loyal user base. The game has won several awards during the years, amongst others the MMO of the year 2012 and 2013. The game is browser based and appr. 40% is consumed through mobile. OFM is operated by three persons and had revenues 2016 of 1.1 MEUR, with appr 50% operational margin. Revenues and marginal has been very stable on similar levels during first half of 2017. OFM Studios GmbH will be reported as an integral part of Stillfront's other business within sports management games, which today consists of Power Challenge.
Stillfront today also entered a co-publishing deal with Digamore Entertainment GmbH, founded and managed by Maik Dokter, regarding the native mobile game Football Empire, currently in the final stages of development. Football Empire is a unique combination of a football manager game and a so-called builder strategy game. The game is planned to be launched at the end of 2017. Digamore Entertainment GmbH, with fully owned subsidiary Football Empire Studios UG, owns the full IP to the game Football Empire. The impact on Stillfront Group's operational financial result (EBTIDA) is expected to be marginal during 2017.
Stillfront has an option to acquire 51% of all outstanding shares in Digamore Entertainment GmbH with the subsidiary Football Empire Studios UG, on a valuation of 3 MEUR. If the option is used, the acquisition is planned to be financed by a combination of cash and newly issued Stillfront Group shares.
Jörgen Larsson, CEO, Stillfront Group, comments: "Our determined and long-term efforts to create a diversified portfolio of studios and games, has paid off through solid financial performance. The newly issued corporate bond secures financial resources for continued profitable growth, both organically, through acquisitions of exciting businesses and entering publishing agreements. OFM's strong position constitutes a significant addition to our offer within sports management games. We believe Football Empire, as a high-quality native mobile games product, has great potential for success, and we are very enthusiastic that Maik Dokter, a proven skilled and passionate entrepreneur is joining the Stillfront family".
Maik Dokter, Founder and CEO, OFM and Digamore, comments: "I am enthusiastic about that OFM and Football Empire are being connected to Stillfront. We share the same objectives and vision, and I am convinced that Stillfront's proven ability to develop businesses and publish products will lead to significant successes."
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Jörgen Larsson, CEO, Stillfront Tel: +46 70 321 18 00 E-mail: jorgen@stillfront.com
ABOUT STILLFRONT
Stillfront is a group of independent creators, publishers and distributors of digital games - with a vision to become the leading group of indie game creators and publishers. Stillfront operates through seven near-autonomous subsidiaries: Bytro Labs in Germany, Coldwood Interactive in Sweden, Power Challenge in the UK and Sweden, Dorado Online Games in Malta, Simutronics in the United States, Babil Games in UAE and Jordan and eRepublik in Ireland and Romania. Stillfront's games are distributed globally. The main markets are France, UK, Germany, the United States and MENA. For further information, please visit www.stillfront.com.
SELECTED GAMES
Stillfront's portfolio includes games across multiple platforms. Unravel, developed by Coldwood in collaboration with Electronic Arts, won 20+ awards at E3 and gamescom and was released in February 2016. Supremacy 1914 and Call of War are high-immersion war strategy games developed by Bytro Labs. ManagerZone is a sports management strategy game launched in 2001. DragonRealms and GemStone IV are MUD-style games with a very loyal player base. Lara Croft Relic Run(TM) is a popular mobile game developed by Simutronics. Tank Storm and Admiral are mobile strategy games with very strong player bases, which are published by Babil Games. World at War is a successful mobile strategy game developed and published by eRepublik Labs.
Nasdaq First North Ticker Symbol: SF Certified Adviser: Avanza Bank, phone +46 8 4094 2120
This information is information that Stillfront Group AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 20.00 CEST on July 18, 2017.
