Keywords Studios acquire multiple audio service firms
Cord Worldwide, Laced Music Group, and Maximal now part of the Keywords group
Technical services provider Keywords Studios today announced the acquisition of two music-related companies in a deal worth £4.5 million.
The acquisition of music-focused branding and strategic service Cord Worldwide, and music service and games industry record label Laced Music Group, is part of Keywords' strategy to "grow organically" in the "highly fragmented" video game services market.
Cord and Laced generated combined revenue of £6.5 million and EBITDA of £675,000 in the year ended June 30, 2017.
Under the terms of the acquisition Keywords paid cash consideration of £3.375 million on completion and will issue 73,744 in shares after two years.
The deal follows on from the recent acquisition of San Paulo-based audio studio, Maximal Studio, in March this year.
Maximal, which provides voice-over recording for the games and learning industries, was acquired for an initial cash consideration of €300,000, with up to €200,000 of deferred consideration due over the following two years.
"Thus far, our audio service line has specialised entirely on voice over production for video games, yet video games publishers/developers are major buyers of specifically composed or licensed music for use in games, are increasingly focussed on using music assets as part of their brand or franchise identity and are becoming more sophisticated about how they buy and manage their music assets," said Andrew Day, CEO of Keywords Studios.
The news coincides with Keywords' full-year financial results which show a 57 per cent revenue increase from €96.6 million to €151.4 million. EBITDA for the year also increased by 57 per cent from €16.7 million in 2016 up to €26.3 million in 2017.