Keywords Studios eyes more acquisitions after €4m German deal
Keywords Studios - the Dublin-based video game content provider - has made its fourth acquisition this year on the back of a strong set of first half financial figures.
The company - which provides design, sound and cultural localisation services for many of the world's top console game manufacturers - has bought TV+SYNCHRON Berlin (TVS), a German-based company specialising in dubbing and voice-over work, for €3.7m in a cash and share deal.
TVS is expected to generate revenues of €4.1m this year and the transaction is expected to complete by the start of next month.
"The acquisition is an important milestone in the development of our audio services in Europe," said Keywords' chief operating officer Giacomo Duranti.
"Germany is one of the two largest markets for voice-over and dubbing in Europe, together with France, where Keywords already has an unparalleled offering, and the integration of TVS into the group will create a market-leading provider of services from German localised video games," he said.
"Keywords and TVS have collaborated on a number of projects in the last year," he said.
Keywords - which spent around €60m on nine acquisitions last year - also published financial figures for the first half of this year, showing a 39% increase in revenue to €153.2m and a 14.3% year-on-year rise in adjusted pre-tax profit to €18.4m.
Chief executive Andrew Day said trading in the second half of the year has started well, with continued strong performances in the game development, functional testing and art creation divisions. He also said the company will continue to seek acquisitions.
"Our acquisition pipeline is very healthy and we are actively reviewing a number of attractive acquisition opportunities that would add critical mass, capacity, and extend our service offering or geographical penetration," he said.
