Ubi Soft Acquires
Blue Byte, a Leading German Publisher of Video
Games
Ubi Soft, a
global leader in the field of interactive
entertainment, today announced the acquisition of
a major German video game firm, Blue Byte
Software.
Blue Byte is behind two
of the most popular series in the history of
video games in Germany: The Settlers Series(R)
and The Battle Isle Series(TM). The Settlers
Series(R) is a well-known economic strategy
simulation. Sales figures for the latest in the
series, The Settlers III, topped 700,000 in the
German market alone. A total of 2.7 million units
in the series has been sold worldwide. The next
installment in the series, The Settlers IV, will
be released on 15 February 2001. There are
already a large number of pre-release orders,
pointing to sales of 300,000 copies as soon as it
comes out, in the German-speaking territories
alone. The Battle Isle Series(TM), which features
futuristic combat strategy, has sold a total of
650,000 units worldwide. Blue Byte is also the
creator of Great Courts, the first tennis
simulation that can be played online and over the
internet.
Blue
Byte, one of the pioneers of video games in
Germany, was founded in 1988 by the current head
of the company, Thomas Hertzler. The company
develops, publishes and distributes video games,
mainly in PC format. It operates in three
countries: Germany, the United States and the
United Kingdom, and has a workforce of 64 people.
Blue Byte is the only German publisher to have
launched a portal for online gaming, The Blue
Byte Game Channel, which brings together a huge
community of online players. In 2000, total sales
for Blue Byte came to 9.5 million euros. The
expected success of The Settlers IV should push
sales up to about 16.5 million euros between now
and March 2002. The company's business plan
currently projects total annual sales in the
medium-term of over 20 million euros.
This
acquisition will be consolidated into the Ubi
Soft accounts as of 6 February 2001, and will
have a positive impact on the group's results in
2001.
This transaction is in
keeping with Ubi Soft's strategy of selective
acquisitions. It adds two new very well known
names to the Group's broad range of games for
players of all ages. Ubi Soft aims to make The
Settlers and The Battle Isle global leaders and
develop them on a variety of other platforms,
including PlayStation(R) 2, Game Cube...In
addition, this move will bring new expertise to
the group in the field of strategic games, and
will strengthen its production capabilities with
the addition of a German team. Following its
expansion in the United States with the
acquisition of Red Storm Entertainment of
Morrisville, North Carolina in August 2000, Ubi
Soft now assumes a leading position in Germany,
which is the second largest PC market in the
world, and, in terms of all platforms, the 4th
largest. Video game sales in Germany totalled
more than 1.3 billion euros in 2000 (source:
Media Control). Moreover, Germany is a favoured
route to Eastern Europe, which represents a
market for the future. This acquisition will
permit Ubi Soft to move from the #10 to the #5
position among video game publishers in Germany.
Thomas
Hertzler, founder and head of Blue Byte, stated:
"I am convinced that this operation is the
right choice for the future of Blue Byte. I have
complete confidence in Ubi Soft's capacity to
safeguard the unique features of our games. Ubi
Soft's backing will help make our products better
known because it will allow them to be adapted
quickly to new generation consoles."
Yves
Guillemot, President and CEO of Ubi Soft, added:
"I am particularly happy with this
acquisition. Germany is the country par
excellence of strategy games, and Blue Byte's
teams are the leading specialists in the field.
Our goal is to invest in Blue Byte and to make
available to them any tool they need to extend
the influence of their leading products. Together
we will endeavour to see to it that, having
garnered such enormous success in Europe, these
wonderful games will soon captivate players
around the world."
This
acquisition confirms Ubi Soft's strategy of
acquiring medium sized business structures to
complete its internal production forces. Just one
more step in bringing Ubi Soft closer to its goal
of being one of the top publishers in the world
in 2005.
About Ubi
Soft(R)Entertainment
Ubi
Soft Entertainment is an international producer,
publisher and distributor of interactive
entertainment products. A leading company in the
multimedia industry, Ubi Soft's strong and
diversified lineup has grown considerably, as has
Ubi Soft itself. As well as steadfastly
continuing to partner with several high-profile
companies, Ubi Soft has also confirmed its
presence on the global market by developing its
own exceptional properties. Founded in 1986 in
France, Ubi Soft is now present on every
continent, both through offices in 18 different
countries including the United States, Brazil,
Morocco, Germany and China and through sales of
products in a total of 52 countries. The group is
dedicated to delivering high-quality,
cutting-edge video game titles to consumers
around the world. Ubi Soft generated a turnover
of FF 1.2 billion for the 1999/2000 fiscal year,
up 40.7% from the previous year, and enjoyed a
net consolidated income of FF 71.8 million, up
75.2% over 98/99.
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