In the latest development, Sweden’s Modern Times Group (MTG) has announced the acquisition of a British developer and publisher of mobile racing games Hutch Games for $375 million (approx £282 million).
Out of the total, $275 million (approx £207 million) is an up-front consideration, while the rest will stem from earn-out payments at an expected value of $100 million (approx £75.2 million) in aggregate.
Acquired by MTG’s new holding company
Notably, Hutch officially will be acquired by GamingCo, MTG’s new holding company for high-quality gaming investments, which was announced very recently.
The acquisition of Hutch is in line with MTG’s strategy to build up a portfolio of high-quality gaming companies and marks the beginning of a new journey with the ambition for further organic and acquisitive growth for MTG. Over the past few years, MTG has acquired ESL and DreamHack to become an esports leader.
MTG has also acquired InnoGames and Kongregate for their popular web-based and mobile games. The acquisition of Hutch adds an attractive portfolio of games and knowledge to MTG’s other gaming companies, claims the company.
Promising pipeline of new titles
Hutch is a London-based leading free-to-play mobile games developer, with an active portfolio of 13 games, over 300 million downloads to date across its titles, and strong growth potential.
The company holds a diversified game portfolio including some of the most successful titles in the mobile racing space, such as Top Drives, F1 Manager, and Rebel Racing, as well as world-class IP licenses with some of the biggest names in the business, including Formula 1.
Additionally, Hutch has a promising pipeline of new titles planned for launch in 2021 and 2022.
Generated £42.4 million in revenue
During the first nine months of 2020, Hutch generated approximately $56.3 million (approx £42.4 million) in revenues, with a year-over-year sales growth of 158%. The mobile gaming company is made up of a staff of 100+ team members, of whom 70 are developers.
Early backers of the Hutch were Venture Capital funds BACKED VC, Index Ventures, and Initial Capital and angel investor Chris Lee, who are all selling their stakes in the company as part of the transaction.
Maria Redin, CEO and Group President of MTG, commented: “Hutch is a true front-runner, responsible for some of the most successful titles in the fast-growing mobile racing category and spearheaded by an exceptionally strong and highly-experienced team. We are thrilled to welcome Hutch to MTG, both as a stellar company in its own right and as the first investment made by our new gaming holding company.”
Shaun Rutland, CEO and Co-founder of Hutch commented: “We are excited to join MTG – in them, we have found a home that believes in our values, supports us in our mission, and can help take our company and our games to the next level.”
Maria Redin, CEO and Group President of MTG, continued: “Hutch has fantastic gaming IPs with strong growth potential – this acquisition strengthens our position in the mid-core segment and diversifies our gaming portfolio, which already includes leading strategy and city builder games developer InnoGames and Kongregate, a leader in the idle gaming category.”
The post Sweden’s MTG acquires UK-based mobile game studio Hutch for £282M appeared first on UKTN (UK Tech News).
