PAI Partners bids for Catan publisher Asmodee in €1.2 billion deal
French board game publisher earned €442 million in revenue last year
The French equity firm PAI Partners has entered official talks to buy board game publisher Asmodee in a deal based on an enterprise value of €1.2 billion.
The deal was announced by both PAI Partners and Asmodee's parent company, Eurazeo. If the terms do not change, it would represent a 4x return on Eurazeo's initial investment.
Asmodee publishes some of the biggest board game IPs, including Catan and Ticket to Ride. It also distributes Pokémon and Magic trading cards in various territories around the world.
In 2013, when Asmodee was largely focused on France and Europe, it earned €125 million in revenue. Last year it earned €442 million, 75 per cent of which came from outside France.
PAI stated that it has no intention of interfering with that trajectory, pledging to, "support the current management team in its plans to grow the business further through international expansion both organically and by acquisition."
"Asmodee represents a unique opportunity to invest in a fast-growing platform within the gaming industry, as part of PAI's strategy to invest in attractive consumer goods industries," said Gaëlle d'Engremont, partner at PAI Partners, in a statement.
"We are excited by the company's growth prospects, which include further developing Asmodee's position in the core hobby gaming market and successfully diversifying the group's main brands onto other platforms. We look forward to working together to deliver on our ambitious objectives."
Completion of the transaction will be subject to regulatory approval, and a consultation with representatives of Asmodee's employees.