Commissar SFLUFAN Posted May 24, 2023 Share Posted May 24, 2023 Stunned Embracer CEO has to deliver financial report right after $2 billion mystery deal falls apart: 'It's been a rough night' | PC Gamer WWW.PCGAMER.COM The 'transformative' partnership was supposed to be announced today, but was unexpectedly halted last night. Quote It was a bad day for low-key gaming colossus Embracer Group, which announced in its full-year financial report that a "groundbreaking strategic partnership" worth more than $2 billion had fallen through at the last minute. Embracer didn't name the other company involved in the planned partnership, but said that a verbal commitment to the deal, which "would have set a new benchmark for the gaming industry," was secured in October 2022. "The transaction had many of the highest rated global advisories onboard with several hundred people engaged on both sides," Embracer said. "All documentation was finalized and ready to go as of yesterday [May 23]. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted May 24, 2023 Share Posted May 24, 2023 Embracer Deez Nutz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted May 24, 2023 Share Posted May 24, 2023 Lolololol verbal agreements are not secured. Get a LOI/LOA in place before you start spending costs and adding it to your forecast. Heads should roll for this tbh. Stock down 40% 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted May 24, 2023 Author Share Posted May 24, 2023 2 minutes ago, Brian said: Lolololol verbal agreements are not secured. Get a LOI/LOA in place before you start spending costs and adding it to your forecast. Heads should roll for this tbh. Stock down 40% I listened to a bit of the investor video with Lars and when the interviewer asked him about the effect on cash flows of this debacle, his response was...uhhhh..."concerning" to say the least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted May 25, 2023 Author Share Posted May 25, 2023 I watched the cash flow response again and there's a few seconds of dead silence between the time the presenter asked the question and Lars responding. That's something you really, really never want to hear from a CEO/CFO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted May 25, 2023 Share Posted May 25, 2023 It’s never good to have CF issues. It’s especially bad in this type of industry. I expect the cost cutting to come fast and hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted May 25, 2023 Author Share Posted May 25, 2023 18 hours ago, Brian said: It’s never good to have CF issues. It’s especially bad in this type of industry. I expect the cost cutting to come fast and hard. This is a problem: Quote Only 2 out of 14 notable new releases in the fiscal year 2022/23 performed above average. Only 4 broke even. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted May 26, 2023 Share Posted May 26, 2023 5 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: This is a problem: Yea I decided to look at the balance sheet and CF 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted May 26, 2023 Author Share Posted May 26, 2023 26 minutes ago, Brian said: Yea I decided to look at the balance sheet and CF You inspired me to do so the same and all I've got to say is: OLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted June 13, 2023 Author Share Posted June 13, 2023 A TOTALLY UNEXPECTED DEVELOPMENT! WHO AMONG US COULD SEE THIS COMING?!?! Open letter by Embracer Group CEO on restructuring program - Embracer Group EMBRACER.COM Everyone, This morning we announced a restructuring program across the Embracer Group that will make us a leaner, stronger and a more focused, self-sufficient company. I want to share some background and context to this decision – and what it means for us going forward. During the past years, Embracer invested significantly both in acquisitions […] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted June 13, 2023 Share Posted June 13, 2023 Time to start having a fire sale on all those companies they scooped up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbsolutSurgen Posted June 13, 2023 Share Posted June 13, 2023 Embracer owns Asmodee, I’m mostly concerned about impact on their mini games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted June 13, 2023 Author Share Posted June 13, 2023 33 minutes ago, AbsolutSurgen said: Embracer owns Asmodee, I’m mostly concerned about impact on their mini games. It'a quite the kick-in-the-pants coming hot on the heels of Shatterpoint's release. Apart from the videogame and tabletop properties, Embracer also owns Dark Horse Comics and the Lord of the Rings IP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XxEvil AshxX Posted June 13, 2023 Share Posted June 13, 2023 They should structure Eidos and Crystal Dynamics on over to Microsoft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted June 13, 2023 Author Share Posted June 13, 2023 4 minutes ago, XxEvil AshxX said: They should structure Eidos and Crystal Dynamics on over to Microsoft. If I had to wager, I'd say that Amazon is the most likely candidate for the divestiture of Crystal Dynamics. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted June 13, 2023 Share Posted June 13, 2023 12 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: If I had to wager, I'd say that Amazon is the most likely candidate for the divestiture of Crystal Dynamics. They are helping out with Perfect Dark though so they've got a relationship there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted June 13, 2023 Author Share Posted June 13, 2023 9 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said: They are helping out with Perfect Dark though so they've got a relationship there. While that is true, the financial arrangements with Amazon appear to be far more substantial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted June 13, 2023 Author Share Posted June 13, 2023 This paragraph from the RPS article about this story is quite something: Quote The many, many things Embracer currently own include Gearbox (Borderlands), Crystal Dynamics (modern Tomb Raider), Eidos Montreal (modern Deus Ex), Volition (Saints Row), Dambuster Studios (Dead Island 2), 3D Realms (Bombshell), Ghost Ship Games (Deep Rock Galactic), Coffee Stain (Goat Simulator and Satisfactory), Piranha Bytes (Gothic, Risen, Elex), Tripwire Interactive (Killing Floor), Warhorse Studios (Kingdom Come: Deliverance), 4A Games (Metro), Snapshot Games (Phoenix Point), Zen Studios (Zen Pinball), Bugbear Entertainment (Wreckfest), New World Interactive (Insurgency), Flying Wild Hog (Shadow Warrior reboot), Beamdog (remasters of Planescape and Baldur's Gate), Perfect World, Saber Interactive, Tuxedo Labs (Teardown), and Middle-earth Enterprises (like, actual Middle-earth). They've also bought individually bought rights to series including Alone In The Dark, Carmageddon, and TimeSplitters. And they have moved beyond games with comic book publisher Dark Horse, board game publisher Asmodee, and various companies for anime, CGI, and more. As for the future... Quote "I have a high degree of confidence that this entire process is going to easily translate into better product selection that's more profitable, and that gives us a greater opportunity for growth in the future, and that helps to leverage the IP that we own within our organisation. I mean, we own Lord Of The Rings," said interim chief operation officer Matthew Karch during a press conference. "We know we need to be exploiting Lord Of The Rings in a very significant fashion, and turn that into one of the biggest gaming franchises in the world. And that's obviously something that we're going to be doing. That's a much better use of resources than some of the other projects that some of our teams have been working on." Oh yeah - we're totally getting a Tom Bombadil dating sim! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted June 13, 2023 Share Posted June 13, 2023 8 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: While that is true, the financial arrangements with Amazon appear to be far more substantial. Will be fun seeing Microsoft twist the FTC's arm to get the Activision thing going but be okay with Embracer dumping tons of IP on Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted June 13, 2023 Author Share Posted June 13, 2023 7 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said: Will be fun seeing Microsoft twist the FTC's arm to get the Activision thing going but be okay with Embracer dumping tons of IP on Amazon. Ehhhhh - two really quite different situations because one involves a significant structural change to a market while the other doesn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted June 13, 2023 Share Posted June 13, 2023 That letter has no executive responsibility for this predicament. If I was an employee, I would be pretty pissed reading that nonsense. LotR gonna be the new Warhammer. I’m all for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted June 13, 2023 Author Share Posted June 13, 2023 8 minutes ago, Brian said: That letter has no executive responsibility for this predicament. If I was an employee, I would be pretty pissed reading that nonsense. Quote Karch agreed, saying during the presentation: “When you acquire [games] studios as rapidly as we have one of the downsides of that rapid acquisition is that you really can’t integrate in a meaningful fashion and so what you end up with are a lot of studios that have their own organizations and their own departments which do things which are also being done in parallel by other units. And when you have as many companies as we do, the duplication can be significant.” OH WOW! NO FREAKIN' WAY, DUDE! THAT'S THE SORT OF C-SUITE LEVEL INSIGHT THAT DEFINITELY JUSTIFIES YOUR SALARY! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreePi Posted June 13, 2023 Share Posted June 13, 2023 Looking over that list of Embracer properties and they seem loaded up on "decent." I'm sure some people love some of their output, but I can't say I'd lose sleep if any of those franchises get canceled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted August 14, 2023 Author Share Posted August 14, 2023 The Saudis were the "mystery partner" in the collapsed $2 billion deal. Scoop: Saudi-funded Savvy Games was the mystery partner in collapsed $2b Embracer deal (Axios) Quote The previously unknown partner in a $2 billion video game mega-deal that mysteriously and dramatically collapsed last spring was the Saudi government-funded Savvy Games Group, Axios has learned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted August 14, 2023 Share Posted August 14, 2023 55 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: The Saudis were the "mystery partner" in the collapsed $2 billion deal. Scoop: Saudi-funded Savvy Games was the mystery partner in collapsed $2b Embracer deal (Axios) Lolololololol. Wow. Beyond me how the top management kept their jobs. Complete and utter gross negligence. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted August 14, 2023 Author Share Posted August 14, 2023 3 minutes ago, Brian said: Lolololololol. Wow. Beyond me how the top management kept their jobs. Complete and utter gross negligence. This is all the more puzzling considering that the Saudis already own 8.1% of Embracer stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted August 14, 2023 Share Posted August 14, 2023 6 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: This is all the more puzzling considering that the Saudis already own 8.1% of Embracer stock. With this leaking, I wonder if Embracer will provide any further comment this Thursday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted August 15, 2023 Share Posted August 15, 2023 Damn, Saudis will buy anything. They really goofed this one up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted August 18, 2023 Author Share Posted August 18, 2023 On 8/14/2023 at 3:10 PM, Brian said: With this leaking, I wonder if Embracer will provide any further comment this Thursday. Embracer CEO says collapse of $2B deal was about timing not terms WWW.GAMEDEVELOPER.COM "It was more that they would like to do something in the future, but not now, which became a 'no' for us." Quote When asked about that report, Wingefors refused to confirm the identity of the business partner, citing legal reasons and suggesting that, in business, you "don't comment on partnerships unless both partners would like to do that." He did, however, provide some explanation as to why the deal unraveled, and indicated it was more about timing that anything else. "As stated, when announcing the news last quarter, the background given to us [as to] why the partnership didn't happen was not because of the terms or the pipeline of games," said Wingefors. "It was more that they would like to do something in the future, but not now, which became a 'no' for us." When asked for his thoughts on the collapse now he's had more time to digest the situation, Wingefors reiterated his belief that the proposal itself was sound, but admitted the entire ordeal has been "painful." "I think the idea to partner up with someone to finance and to share business risks, and that both partners are in the same boat, is still valid," he said. "Obviously we do that with industry partners today, but this was on a greater scale. Embracer, again, being the only company with such a broad pipeline, including a significant variety of well-known IPs and licensed IPs, I think is a very interesting proposal for players. "Now that's history. Now we're taking control in our own hands. We're adapting and adjusting, and we've left this behind us. Personally I've done a lot of learnings, and it's been painful, but as an entrepreneur you learn as you go." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stepee Posted August 18, 2023 Share Posted August 18, 2023 23 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: Embracer CEO says collapse of $2B deal was about timing not terms WWW.GAMEDEVELOPER.COM "It was more that they would like to do something in the future, but not now, which became a 'no' for us." Nothing fills me with confidence more than “learn as you go” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted August 18, 2023 Author Share Posted August 18, 2023 4 minutes ago, stepee said: Nothing fills me with confidence more than “learn as you go” Now imagine how his employees feel knowing that they're all along for the ride as part of Lars's own personal journey of corporate "self-discovery". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stepee Posted August 18, 2023 Share Posted August 18, 2023 dude is tone deaf AF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted August 18, 2023 Author Share Posted August 18, 2023 2 minutes ago, stepee said: dude is tone deaf AF As per a post on ReseERA: Quote The fact that their huge masterstroke that they staked the entire company on was a fucking Saudi deal says it all, really. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stepee Posted August 18, 2023 Share Posted August 18, 2023 They need to stick with what they do best; making games nobody ever asked for based on otherwise beloved IP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted August 23, 2023 Author Share Posted August 23, 2023 Just to give a tangible example of how swimmingly things are going at Embracer, my understanding is that THQ-Nordic, etc. have a practically non-existent (or none at all) presence at Gamescom which is metaphorically happening "down the street" in contrast to the significant presence they had last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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