North West games company Playdemic has been bought by Warner Bros.
Playdemic is one of Europe’s leading mobile games companies and employs 35 people at its office in Wilmslow, Cheshire.
It has been bought by TT Games, part of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and the makers of best-selling LEGO® titles including “LEGO® Star Wars™” and “LEGO® Dimensions™.”
Leading technology bank GP Bullhound acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Playdemic on the sale.
The sale represents the second big high profile for Playdemic’s popular CEO Paul Gouge. The 40-year-old, who is originally from Wigan, sold Rockpool Games to Eidos for $15m in 2007.
He then co-founded Playdemic with business partner Alex Rigby and one of their games – Village Life – grew to have 2.5 million unique users. It recently launched its game Golf Clash, which is already a top grossing title in the US and internationally.
Gouge praised GP Bullhound’s role in the deal.
“With their strong local and global reach, and exceptional industry knowledge, Hugh Campbell, Nick Horrocks and their team, have helped deliver a deal which works for all shareholders both now and in the future,” he said.
The cooperation with TT Games will allow Playdemic to both grow its existing business and leverage its expertise in mobile to develop games based upon well-known characters and franchises within the Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment portfolio.
Hugh Campbell, managing partner at GP Bullhound, added: “We are delighted to have worked with Paul and his team.
“The gaming sector in the north is incredibly strong and we are delighted to bring our global experience in gaming to bear in helping Paul and his team achieve the next step for Playdemic.“
Nick Horrocks, director at GP Bullhound in Manchester, said: “It is great to see companies like Warner Bros investing in the north.
“This highlights the continuing strength of the Northern Tech community and why both investors and corporates are continuing to look for opportunities in the region.”
This represents GP Bullhound’s fourth transaction in the gaming sector in the last nine months, and with transactions for Innogames, Splash Damage and LeoVegas, further highlights the firm’s global leadership in this area.
GP Bullhound’s Manchester office had previously advised leading games developer Sumo Digital on its refinancing.