Gameforge acquires majority stake in Frogster
Sixty per cent of shares in Runes of Magic publisher bought at €25 a share
German online publisher Gameforge has acquired a 60 per cent stake in Frogster Interactive Pictures, the company behind the successful Runes of Magic MMO, paying €25 (£20.71) a share – a valuation which places the total value of Frogster at €64 million (£53 million approximately).
The management of Berlin-based Frogster retains a 15 per cent share of stock, whilst 25 per cent remains in free-float on the market.
Frogster said that despite the acquisition, the business "shall be sustained as an independent company with its current management and team at its existing locations, with its own culture and its successful brand names."
Frogster boasts a €2.2 million (£1.82 million) monthly profit from its flagship game, Runes of Magic, which the company quotes as having a userbase of five million. The company also runs Bounty Bay Online and The Spellborne Chronicles, with new MMOs Tera and Mythos on track for a 2011 release.
Gameforge is a large, independent online publisher, having recently acquired the rights to produce free-to-play online games for CBS' Star Trek licence. Ex Gameforge boss Lars Koschin was appointed as CEO of Frogster America in May last year.