Embracer Group, formerly known as THQ Nordic, has published its financial report for the 2nd quarter of 2019. In the gaming area, sales increased by 117%, although overall this was offset by a 51% decline in the film business compared to the previous year.
To clarify its position as a holding company and to avoid confusion with THQ Nordic GmbH, THQ Nordic has adopted the name Embracer Group in the report. The Vienna branch (THQ Nordic) retained its name. CEO Lars Wingefors told investors that he and his M&A (mergers and acquisitions) team spoke with more than fifty companies during the last quarter. Some are "major businesses" which, if acquired, could form a new operating group separate from existing ones (THQ Nordic, Koch Media and Coffee Stain).
However, Wingefors stressed that Embracer Group as a whole does not need M&A to grow its business, and therefore investors should not expect the company to rush in that direction. The first step is to find βthe right companies with the right culture, the right products and the right ambitions.β
That the former THQ Nordic is no longer focused on M&A is not surprising given how many studios and IP the company has acquired in the past few years. Just this August, Embracer Group bought Milestone, Gunfire Games, Goodbye Kansas Game Invest, Game Outlet Europe and KSM.
Lars Wingefors also said that Embrace Group has eighty-six projects in development, forty-nine of which have not yet been announced. In addition, the CEO emphasized the shift to prioritizing "quality first" with the goal of providing better games, happier customers, and also delivering higher ROI (return on investment) for investors.
For the next fiscal year ending March 2021, Embracer Group is preparing at least two AAA games, as well as a number of AA releases, including Desperados 3, Destroy All Humans, Wasteland 3, Iron Harvest and Biomutant. It is noted that the latter is already at the final stage of development.
Source: 3dnews.ru