Embracer Group AB (“Embracer”) has acquired Dark Horse Media, LLC (“Dark Horse”), a leading entertainment company. Dark Horse becomes the tenth operative group of the Embracer group. Embracer Group originally announced the acquisition of Dark Horse on the 21st of December 2021. All conditions for the transaction have now been fulfilled, and the transaction is consequently completed. Through the acquisition, Embracer strengthens its transmedia capabilities by adding expertise in content development, comics publishing, and film & TV production. Dark Horse owns or controls more than 300 intellectual properties, many of which are attractive for future transmedia exploitation, including the creation of new video games. Dark Horse also brings both retail and collectible product divisions. Dark Horse founder and CEO Mike Richardson will continue to lead the company while keeping existing management in place.
“This is an exciting new step for our company and promises a great future for our employees, the creators we work with, and our many business partners. I am very impressed with Embracer CEO and founder, Lars Wingefors, and the business he has built. The Embracer Group is an amazing collection of companies and the synergies with Dark Horse seem endless. The Embracer ethos is very much aligned with our own, and I couldn’t be any happier about becoming part of their team,” says Mike Richardson, founder and CEO of Dark Horse.
Dark Horse Media is headquartered in Milwaukie, Oregon, USA, has entertainment offices in Los Angeles, California, USA, and has 181 employees across its three business units: Dark Horse Comics, Dark Horse Entertainment and Things From Another World.
Dark Horse’s growing library includes over 300 compelling intellectual properties. Possessing a structure and proven ability to produce IP, partner with top creative talent, and create brands and global hits, Dark Horse is in a strong position in a market where entertainment content is in high demand. This proof-point can be seen in Dark Horse’s strong pipeline of over 40 projects at Netflix, Amazon, Syfy, Sony, MGM, Universal, and Warner Media.
Additionally, there is untapped potential in creating games based on Dark Horse IP and substantial opportunity for synergies within the Embracer group, both within the Dark Horse Comics and Dark Horse Entertainment.
About Embracer Group
Embracer Group is the parent company of businesses developing and publishing PC, console and mobile games, board games and comics for the global games market. The Group has an extensive catalog of over 850 owned franchises, such as Saints Row, Goat Simulator, Dead Island, Darksiders, Metro, MX vs ATV, Kingdoms of Amalur, TimeSplitters, Satisfactory, Wreckfest, Insurgency, World War Z and Borderlands, amongst many others. With its head office based in Karlstad, Sweden, Embracer Group has a global presence through its ten operative groups: THQ Nordic, Koch Media, Coffee Stain, Amplifier Game Invest, Saber Interactive, DECA Games, Gearbox Entertainment, Easybrain, Asmodee and Dark Horse.
The Group has 114 internal game development studios and is engaging more than 12,500 employees and contracted employees in more than 40 countries.
Embracer Group’s shares are publicly listed on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Stockholm under the ticker EMBRAC B with FNCA Sweden AB as its Certified Adviser; info@fnca.se +46-8-528 00 399.
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About Dark Horse Comics
Founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson, Dark Horse Comics is an excellent example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and transform a company with humble beginnings into an industry giant. Over the years, Dark Horse has published the work of creative legends such as Yoshitaka Amano, Paul Chadwick, Geof Darrow, Will Eisner, Neil Gaiman, Dave Gibbons, Faith Erin Hicks, Kazuo Koike, Matt Kindt, Jeff Lemire, Mike Mignola, Frank Miller, Moebius, Chuck Palahniuk, Wendy Pini, Richard Pini, and Gerard Way. The company has also set the industry standard for quality licensed comics, graphic novels, collectibles, and art books, including Stranger Things, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Minecraft, The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, James Cameron’s Avatar, Mass Effect, The Witcher, and Halo. In 1989, Mike Richardson established a division for film and series based on Dark Horse content. Early successes included hits such as The Mask and TimeCop. Dark Horse Entertainment has gone on to produce nearly four dozen films and series, including Hellboy, Resident Alien, and The Umbrella Academy. Today, Dark Horse Media stands as one of the world’s leading entertainment and comic publishing companies.
Source: Dark Horse
