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Research Outline
Prepared for Ariella L. | Delivered January 22, 2021
Earnout Period for Video Game Company Sales
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Goals
To determine the length of
t
h
e
e
a
r
n
out period for a minimum of ten video game companies sold in the last two years, in order to determine what the "typical"
e
a
r
n
o
u
t
period is.
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Early Findings
Embracer Group
Several subsidiaries of Embracer Group bought a total of eight video game firms, some of which included earnout periods. These deals were announced in August 2020.
Saber Interactive acquired 4A Games Limited. The deal was for
$25 million
with up to an additional
$35 million
paid as an earnout within
five years
.
Amplifier Game Invest purchased
V
e
r
m
i
l
i
a
Studios for
€900,000
(
$1.095 million
) with up to an additional
€2 million
(
$2.434 million
) payable if
V
e
r
m
i
l
i
a
grosses
€30 million
(
$36.516 million
) or more within 10 years.
The purchase of Pallindrome Interactive was purchase with an earnout period of
5-10 years
.
"Austrian multiplayer developer Rare Earth Games, bought in full by Amplifier Game Invest for
€300,000
m [(
$365,000
)], with a maximum earnout consideration of €3m [(
$3.65 million
)] payable within ten years."
" Full acquisition of German live operations and mobile service provider DECA Live Operations GmbH for an upfront consideration of
€25m
[(
$30.442 million
)] in Class B shares, plus a maximum of
€60m
[(
$73.061 million
)] in earnout considerations tied to “significant growth” over the following seven years."
Toadman Interactive
Toadman Interactive agreed to acquire Sold Out for
GBP 16.0 million
(
$21.927 million
) upfront, plus up to an additional
GBP 5.2 million
if certain goals are made within
12 months
from January 1, 2020.
Codemasters
Codemasters bought Slightly Mad Studios for $30 million upfront with an earnout period of
three years
that could result in a higher payout.
THQ Nordic
THQ Nordic acquired Milestone s.r.l. for
€55.8 million
(
$67.914 million
) upfront, with additional amounts possible being paid if certain earnings goals are achieved in the
2-year earnout period
.
Summary of Findings
In the initial hour of research, we were able to find eight sales of video game companies in the past two years that had earnouts in the contract.
T
h
e
e
a
r
n
out periods for these sales were 5 years, 10 years, 5-10 years, 10 years, 7 years, 1 year, 3 years, and 2 years.
Although we ran out of time to add more, our initial research leads us to believe that additional sales that include earnout provisions can be found.
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