EQT to acquire Keywords in £2.2bn deal

Swedish private equity firm EQT is to acquire Keywords Studios, an Irish company focused on developing software used in video games, in a deal that values the business at £2.2bn, according to a report by MarketWatch.

Under the terms of the transaction, EQT will pay 2,450 pence per share, representing a 66.7% premium over the software developer’s share price on 17 May, when formal negotiations began.

Keywords Studios, listed on London’s Alternative Investment Market under the ticker KWS, saw its shares rise 3% on Tuesday, following a 49% year-to-date increase amid protracted negotiations with EQT.

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Founded in County Dublin, Keywords Studios has helped develop software for best-selling games like Fortnite, Assassin’s Creed and League of Legends. The company, initially a business-software firm in 1998, pivoted to the video game sector in the early 2000s.

EQT, established in 1994 with investments from Sweden’s prominent Wallenberg family, plans to take Keywords Studios private in another example of UK companies being acquired by foreign buyers seeking bargains on London’s public markets.

EQT intends to provide additional capital to fuel Keywords’ growth through mergers and acquisitions, enhancing the company’s global reach.

 

Source: Private Equity Wire

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