Stillfront Group acquires Imperia Online for €10m
Deal could be worth up to €27.5 million depending on earn-out over the next three years
The Stillfront Group has acquired Bulgarian games studio Imperia Online for €10 million ($11.8 million), enabling the group to expand its portfolio of online games.
The European studio has released 25 games and attracted more than 45 million users worldwide, most notably with its flagship strategy title Imperia Online. The company generated revenues of around €4.1 million between January and August this year.
Meanwhile, Stillfront is a collection of independent developers, publishers and distributors. Imperia Online becomes the tenth subsidiary, joining the likes of German free-to-play studio Goodgame Studios and Unravel developer Coldwood Interactive.
The acquisition is expected to be completed on October 11th. €5 million is payable in cash to Imperia Online's former owners, while the other €5 million is payable in newly issued Stillfront shares (269,412 of them, to be exact).
However, the value of the deal could raise to €27.5 million ($32.8 million) as there is an earn-out consideration of up to €17.5 million ($20.6 million) depending on Imperia Online's financial performance over the next three years. Earn-outs will also be paid half in cash and half in new Stillfront shares.
"Imperia Online fits perfectly into Stillfront's growth strategy by broadening our portfolio of studios and games with characteristics that drive long term gamer relations," said CEO Jörgen Larsson.
"Imperia Online is a leading developer and publisher with a solid and highly loyal user base. It is with pleasure I today welcome... the whole team at Imperia Online to the Stillfront family."