tinyBuild plc (LON:TBLD), a leading video games publisher and developer with global operations, has announced the acquihire of development studio, Animal. The Company has been working with Animal for two years, developing Rawmen, a light-hearted, multiplayer arena shooter where players use food as a weapon to neutralise opponents.
In Rawmen, up to eight players battle alongside or against each other in various battle modes, including quickplay to fight off ‘soupsters’ from around the world or private games where players can get messy with friends.
The consideration for the acquihire includes both upfront and deferred payments over the following three calendar years, up to a max of $10.2 million, split approximately 30%-70% between cash and newly issued tinyBuild shares, subject to stretched operational targets being met. The game is still under development, and it will be slightly accretive in 2021.
It is core to tinyBuild’s strategy to elevate core franchises from third-party, to first and second party. By bringing Animal in-house, the Company expects to create value for shareholders, while high visibility on platform revenues helps reduce execution risk.
Alex Nichiporchik, Chief Executive Officer of tinyBuild, commented:
“As a public company, we have an even more powerful platform from which we can deliver on our organic and M&A growth ambitions. We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Animal, our fourth acquihire this year, as we continue to scale up our ambitions. Our experience of working with the studio over the last two years means we know they are going to be a great addition to the tinyBuild family.”
“Our goal is to expand our position as a leading global developer and publisher, focusing on IP ownership while creating long-term scalable franchises across multiple media formats. In addition, we are looking at a number of other potential acquihires and larger scale acquisitions to enhance the Company’s strategic and operational position.”
Admission and Total Voting Rights
As part of the initial consideration on signing, the Company will issue 291,959 New Common Shares of $0.001 each in the Company (“New Common Shares”) at a price of 223p per New Common Share, and such shares will be subject to a 12 month lock up period.
Application will shortly be made to the London Stock Exchange for the admission of the New Common Shares to trading on AIM (“Admission”) which is expected to take place on or around 24 August 2021. Following Admission, the total number of Common Shares and voting rights in the Company will be 202,036,077. The Company does not hold any shares in treasury.
The above figure may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FCA’s Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
