(Image?)
Trophy Games today announced the acquisition of the French game developer Playrion from the Swedish listed company Paradox Interactive AB.
Playrion has around 30 employees and annual revenue of approximately DKK 30 million. The acquisition is the largest in Trophy Games’ history and strengthens the company’s position in strategy and simulation games for mobile. Playrion specialises in aviation simulation and management games and is best known for Airlines Manager and Airport Simulator: First Class.
In particular, Trophy Games sees significant potential in using Airport Simulator and its underlying technology as the foundation for a new series of simulation games. The company has applied this strategy before, following its acquisition of Airline Manager in 2021, which has since grown into a series of six transport management games. In the shorter term, Trophy Games also sees opportunities to improve the performance of Playrion’s existing games by drawing on the company’s expertise in marketing, data, technology and game development.
The cash purchase price amounts to EUR 2.25 million, equivalent to approximately DKK 16.8 million, and is payable upon completion of the transaction. The purchase price has been set on a cash-free, debt-free basis and will be adjusted for Playrion’s net cash position at the time of closing. In addition, Paradox Interactive is entitled to 9% of the net revenue from Playrion’s games for the first three years following completion of the acquisition. Trophy Games is financing the acquisition from its existing cash reserves while maintaining a strong capital position.
As a result of the acquisition and the inclusion of The Ranchers in the company’s financial guidance, Trophy Games is also adjusting its outlook for the year. The company now expects revenue of DKK 170–180 million (previously DKK 150–167 million), EBITDA of DKK 29–35 million (previously DKK 28–36 million) and unchanged EBIT of DKK 18–24 million.
Søren Gleie, CEO of Trophy Games, says:
We have followed Playrion for four years and know both the games and the market well. What makes this acquisition particularly interesting to us is the potential to build from an already proven foundation. We have successfully done that before, and with Airport Simulator we see an opportunity to do it again. Our ambition is to build a new series of simulation games and establish a new growth platform for Trophy Games. We have grown revenue more than fourfold over the past five years, have six new games coming to market over the next year and now have the financial capacity to make larger acquisitions. Playrion is our largest acquisition to date and an important step in our strategy to continue growing both organically and through acquisitions.