Hubertz: I'm not interested in selling Bigpoint
But as digital games sector continues to boom, CEO admits investors want an exit
Heiko Hubertz, the outspoken CEO of browser-based games firm Bigpoint, has insisted that he is dedicated to building the company to be a global leader in the free-to-play MMO market, and he's personally not interested in selling the company on.
In a digital market dominated by big-money mergers and acquisition activity, rumours persist that Bigpoint could be the next to be bought out by a savvy media firm or old-school games publisher, and Hubertz himself admitted that his investors - which include a division of NBC Universal and GMT Communications - are keen to make an exit in their own timeline.
"We see interest all the time, for the last year," offered Hubertz in an interview published today on GamesIndustry.biz.
"I get contacted by so many media companies and pro-equity funds, but I personally am not interested to sell. I believe in what we're doing here. We have the finest investors like GMT Communications fund here in London, or NBC Universal, and of course they want to have an exit in whatever time period, and they're interested to talk to these people.
"But from my point of view I'm not interested in selling. If someone wants to talk to us, that's not a problem, they can do that, but I'm taking care of business."
Digital games companies have proven to be hot acquisition targets in 2010, with the likes of ngmoco, Chillingo, Acclaim and Playdom all snapped up as publishers and media companies move in to a booming sector.
Earlier this year, it was suggested that Bigpoint's investors were waiting for a valuation of at least 1 billion euros ($1.3bn / £852m) before considering an exit.
But Hubertz will continue to build the company - next year Bigpoint pushes hard into the UK and US markets with MMOs based on Battlestar Galactica, The Mummy Online and its original IP Ruined Online, designed specifically for the North American market.
The full interview, in which Hubertz talks about "crap" browers games flooding the market, the companies involvement in Panasonic's ambitious Jungle handheld, and why set-top boxes and IPTV are the future of home gaming, can be read here.