Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA), a global leader in interactive entertainment, today announced the completion of its acquisition of Codemasters for 604 pence (approximately US$8.37) in cash for each ordinary share of Codemasters with an implied enterprise value of US$1.2 billion.
The combination of Electronic Arts and Codemasters marks an exciting new era in racing game entertainment. Bringing together two of the most passionate, creative and talented game developer and publishing organizations in the industry will enable further growth and continued success for a stable of the most powerful and popular racing brands in the world, including Formula 1®, Need for Speed, DIRT, DiRT Rally/WRC, GRID, Project CARS, Real Racing and more. With this critically acclaimed portfolio, Electronic Arts and Codemasters will be positioned to bring fans a regular cadence of new and exciting racing content, in addition to reaching across more platforms and more regions of the world.
Codemasters’ critically-acclaimed franchises Formula 1®, DIRT, DiRT Rally, GRID and Project CARS will sit alongside Electronic Arts’ global Need for Speed franchise, fan-favorite Real Racing mobile game, and its EA SPORTS brands, enabling greater innovation and increasing the capability to deliver content and experiences to a truly global audience for racing entertainment.
“This is the beginning of an exciting new era for racing games and content as we bring together the talented teams at Electronic Arts and Codemasters,” said Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts. “Racing fandom continues to grow worldwide, and the franchises in our combined portfolio will enable us to create innovative new experiences and bring more players into the excitement of cars and motorsport. Our teams will be a global powerhouse in racing entertainment, with amazing games for players on every platform, and we can’t wait to get started.”
“Today is a landmark in Codemasters’ history, and an exciting day for our employees and players,” said Frank Sagnier, CEO of Codemasters. “The partnership with EA will enable our teams to take our highly-acclaimed franchises to new heights and reach a huge global audience through their player network. Together we can redefine the landscape of racing games to create even more compelling experiences for racing fans around the world.”
The union will open significant growth opportunities for Codemasters franchises with access to Electronic Arts’ network of more than 430 million players and industry-leading multi-platform subscription services. Electronic Arts also brings deep data and analytics capabilities to the Codemasters development and publishing teams, providing audience insights to accelerate the performance of key franchises. These capabilities, as well as Electronic Arts’ global publishing, marketing and game development strength, will unlock new opportunities for the combined group’s portfolio of racing games and content to reach and deeply engage more players around the world on console, PC and mobile.
The acquisition of Codemasters is part of Electronic Arts’ growth strategy focused on delivering more exceptional experiences and top live services, and reaching more players on more platforms around the world. The acquisition of Codemasters is also expected to grow net bookings and underlying profitability for Electronic Arts.
The acquisition of Codemasters was financed with cash on hand.
