Keywords Studios Plc Regulatory News (KWS)

12 August 2021

Keywords Studios plc ("Keywords Studios", "Keywords", "the Group")

Acquisition of AMC RO STUDIO S.R.L. ("AMC")

Establishes Art Service Line in Eastern Europe through a high quality acquisition

Keywords Studios, the international technical and creative services provider to the global video games industry, today announces that it has acquired the entire issued share capital of AMC, a video game art creation studio for a total consideration of €2.8m. The acquisition adds significant talent and experience to Keywords' art service line and establishes its presence in Eastern Europe. The acquisition also brings opportunities for certain of the Group's other service lines in the region and advances Keywords' strategy to become the 'go to' technical and creative services platform for the global video games industry.

Founded in 2009 and based in Bucharest, Romania, AMC is a long established, high quality specialist art studio servicing both US and European clients. The studio's talented and experienced team of 63 staff, led by Studio Head Cristina Neamtu, focuses primarily on characters, environment, buildings, vehicle and weapons assets in a variety of styles including realistic 3D, photo-realistic 3D, stylized 2D and illustration. AMC works for large publishers and developers including Activision, 2K, CD Projekt Red, Wargaming, Zynga and others on major franchises including Call of Duty, World of Tanks, Spider Man, Mafia and Planet of the Apes. Cristina Neamtu and the AMC team will remain with the business.

AMC has grown strongly over the last two calendar years and in 2020 recorded revenue and adjusted EBITDA of €2.3m and €0.5m respectively. Under the terms of the acquisition, Keywords will pay an initial cash consideration of €2.0m and the equivalent of €0.8m in new ordinary shares to be issued on the first anniversary of completion. The new ordinary shares to be issued are subject to one-year orderly market provisions.

Jon Hauck, Joint Interim CEO of Keywords Studios, commented:

"I am delighted to welcome Cristina and the talented AMC team to the Keywords group. We are excited by the expertise and experience that AMC will bring to our art service line and by the growth opportunities for the service line as well as for Keywords' wider business in the region. 

"The studio's excellent track record and reputation for high quality work for over 12 years is extremely impressive. We are looking forward to helping AMC to grow further as part of the Group and to being able to offer AMC's high quality work to our client base."

Cristina Neamtu (AMC Studio Head) further commented:

"We are thrilled to join the Keywords group and we are looking forward to the opportunities that being part of an industry leading global business will open up to our clients and our team. 

"Being part of the Keywords group will facilitate accelerated growth and the investment and support will enable us to grow the team and facilitate the delivery of larger projects to a wider client base. We are excited about working closely with everyone at Keywords and contributing to the continuing growth of the wider Keywords business."

For further information, please contact:

About Keywords Studios (www.keywordsstudios.com)

Keywords Studios is an international technical services provider to the global video games industry. Established in 1998, and now with over 65 facilities in 22 countries strategically located in Asia, Australia, the Americas and Europe, it provides integrated art creation, marketing services, game development, testing, localization, audio and player support services across more than 50 languages and 16 games platforms to a blue-chip client base of over 950 clients across the globe.

Keywords Studios has a strong market position, providing services to 23 of the top 25 most prominent games companies, including Activision Blizzard, Bandai Namco, Bethesda, Electronic Arts, Konami, Microsoft, Riot Games, Square Enix, Supercell, TakeTwo, Epic Games and Ubisoft. Recent titles worked on include Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Anthem, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Valorant, League of Legends, Fortnite, Clash Royale and Doom Eternal. Keywords Studios is listed on AIM, the London Stock Exchange regulated market (KWS.L).

About AMC RO STUDIO S.R.L. (www.amcstudio.ro)

AMC is a leading 3D art and design studio focused on the video game industry. Based in Bucharest, Romania and led by Cristina Neamtu, AMC enables its partners to realize their vision through creative 3D visual development and design across a range of game platforms. AMC has worked on industry leading titles including Witcher III (CD Projekt Red), World of Tanks (Wargaming), Call of Duty (Activision), Spiderman (Sony) and Mafia (2K).