26 October 2016 – acquisition
The company has has acquired Player Research Ltd for a total consideration of up to £1.3m from its founder, Graham McAllister, and others. Player Research provides consulting and user testing from a play testing laboratory to mobile, console and VR game developers throughout the world. The acquisition is in line with Keywords Studios’ strategy to extend its services, with the objective of providing end to end services covering all aspects of game production and live operations support. The deal is expected to be immediately earnings enhancing and the initial consideration comprises £700k in cash and 65,280 new ordinary shares, which will be subject to a two-year lock in period. Further cash consideration of up to £300k may be payable subject to Player Research achieving certain targets within two years of the acquisition. We continue to rate the shares as a BUY.