Stillfront reportedly sued for $30m over mobile subsidiary Kixeye
Update: Stillfront says Kixeye "did not develop accordance with the targets agreed upon in the acquisition agreement"
Swedish publisher Stillfront Group is reportedly being sued for over $30 million on behalf of one its owned studios, Kixeye.
According to VentureBeat, the lawsuit was filed by Fortis Advisors on behalf of Kixeye shareholders, and alleges that the company deliberately breached a merger agreement pertaining to a bonus owed to Kixeye if it hit certain milestones.
The suit apparently accuses Stillfront of manipulating financial results in order to avoid the additional $30 million payout.
It also alleges that Stillfront "readjusted" its pre-merger expenses to make it extremely difficult for Kixeye to hit the targets, which were based on previous performance.
Stillfront acquired the Canadian studio in 2019 for $90 million in cash, and at the time, an additional payout of up to $30 million was expected if the company's financial goals for the same year were met.
At the beginning of 2020, Stillfront confirmed layoffs of around 20 people from Kixeye, stemming from the acquisition.
GamesIndustry.biz has reached out to Stillfront for comment.
Update: Stillfront issued us the folllowing statement via email: "Unfortunately, we are unable to comment on an ongoing dispute or respond to specific allegations in articles. As we have previously also communicated, Kixeye did not develop accordance with the targets agreed upon in the acquisition agreement, which is why no additional purchase price was paid."