MTG completes Kongregate deal

Modern Times Group (MTG) has completed its US$55m deal to acquire a US games publisher and developer as part of its shift away from traditional linear TV operations.

Jørgen Madsen Lindeman

The Scandinavian media operator has taken 100% ownership of San Francisco-based Kongregate from GameStop Corp in a deal first mooted a month ago.

Kongregate claims to attract up to 14 million monthly active users across all platforms, with more than 100,000 games on its own browser platform and more than 100 million downloads of 45 games from app stores.

The firm was founded in 2006, has 80 employees and expects to generate net sales of at least US$50m in 2017, according to MTG.

MTG and Kongregate said they intend to acquire further first-party game developers following the deal.

Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, MTG president and CEO, said the company “is a great fit with our strategy to invest in relevant, complementary and scalable digital content and communities.

“Kongregate significantly strengthens our online gaming vertical and gives us a presence in both the European and US markets.”

The move continues MTG’s strategy of moving away from traditional broadcasting and investing in digital and gaming firms.

Earlier this year MTG increased its stake in Hamburg-based online games developer InnoGames to 51%, while the group has previously taken major stakes in eSports operators ESL and DreamHack, MCNs Zoomin and Splay, and others.

Meanwhile it has been selling off its stake in broadcasters such as FTV Prima in the Czech Republic, CTC Media in Russia, and a clutch of free and pay TV nets in the Baltics.

Kongregate mobile games include Animation Throwdown: The Quest for Cards, AdVenture Capitalist, Peter Molyneux’s The Trail and BattleHand.