- The video game services company has agreed to a deal for £24.50 per share.
- This represents a two-thirds premium to Keywords’ share price on May 17.
Keywords Studios has agreed a £2.1bn takeover by Swedish private equity giant EQT.
The gaming services business has accepted a £24.50-a-share offer from the Stockholm-based investment group that bought Dechra Pharmaceuticals in January.
It represents a two-thirds premium to Keywords’ share price on May 17, the last trading day before it confirmed talks were underway with EQT, but £1 less than an initial approach of £25.50 made in May.
Offer: Keywords Studios has agreed a £2.1bn takeover by private equity giant EQT
Headquartered in Dublin, the company provides technical and creative services to many of the world’s leading video game manufacturers, including Microsoft, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Tencent and Activision Blizzard.
These include trailer production, dubbing, sound mixing, visual effects work, and translation of in-game texts into dozens of languages.
It enjoyed a huge boost from the pandemic, as onerous lockdown restrictions caused people to spend more time indoors.
Since listing on the AIM exchange in 2013, Keywords has expanded significantly through acquisitions and organic growth, increasing revenue from €16.4 million at the time to €780.4 million last year.
However, the group said on Wednesday that its “long-term potential” has not been reflected in its shares, whose value has plummeted over the past year amid concerns that artificial intelligence threatens its industry.
EQT believes that with the right additional investment, it could “increase the pace of growth of (Keywords)” to help it become one of the world’s leading gaming services companies.
It wants to expand the reach of Keywords to “adjacent media and entertainment end markets and fast-growing technologies.”
Jean Salata, President of EQT Asia, commented: ‘As a private company under EQT ownership, Keywords Studios will be well positioned to make the long-term investments required for the transition to next-generation gaming and for global expansion.
‘We plan to leverage our experience in the services and technology sectors to support management and invest further in innovation, talent and M&A to accelerate Keywords Studios’ current strategy.’
Keywords was originally founded in 1998 by Giorgio Guastalla and his wife, Teresa Luppino, as a provider of translation services for enterprise software developers.
Over time it became a gaming services company, working on famous franchises such as Fortnite, Assassin’s Creed, Pro Evolution Soccer and The Legend of Zelda.
The planned acquisition is the latest blow to London’s markets, which have seen an exodus of valuable companies in recent years.
Private security firm G4S, Hotel Chocolat, supermarket chain Morrisons and fashion brand Ted Baker are just some of the names that have passed into foreign hands.
And in recent months, cybersecurity specialist Darktrace, Songs Fund, financial data group Preqin and Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services have all closed multi-billion-pound acquisition deals.
Keywords Studies Share rose 2.85 percent to 23.84 pounds on Wednesday morning.
