Privately owned game and toy company Goliath has acquired the game assets of Funko, as Funko streamlines its operations in the wake of ongoing losses and sales declines (see “Funko Shows Loss on Q3 Sales Decline”), the companies announced. “The transaction is designed to keep with our previously stated goal of streamlining our business by focusing on our core assets,” Funko interim CEO Mike Lunsford said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “We intend to use the proceeds from this transaction to reduce our debt.”
The deal includes the assets, including intellectual property, of Funko’s board game development studio, f/k/a Forrest-Pruzan Creative, and board game design team Prospero Hall, which Funko acquired as it moved into the games business in 2019 (see “Funko Moves into the Games Business”). Goliath also acquired Funko’s current inventory of games and puzzles.
Goliath and Funko have also entered into an exclusive license and distribution agreement for Funko’s portfolio of games, which provides that Goliath will be the exclusive worldwide distributor of Funko’s current catalog of games and puzzles. Goliath and Funko will collaborate to develop and distribute new games and puzzles.
Under the agreement, Goliath is making an initial payment, followed by future minimum guaranteed royalty payments for the use of the Funko brand.
“Funko Games is a highly regarded brand that includes hundreds of board games recently created as well as a great portfolio from Forrest-Pruzan,” Goliath CEO Jochanan Golad said. “We look forward to bringing the Funko brand and style to the game aisle in new and innovative ways.”
Goliath highlighted upcoming Funko game Bitty Pop! Chase, which will be released soon.
Over the past 10 years, Goliath has been assembling a growing portfolio of games, acquiring Pressman Toy in 2014, Jax in 2017 (see “Goliath Acquires Jax”), and Endless Games in 2019 (see “Goliath Gets Endless Games”).
Source: ICv2
