The acquisition of Storm will advance iCandy’s goal of becoming a global games publisher within the fast growing Metaverse and Web 3.0.

In another leap towards building a global Metaverse gaming platform,  iCandy Interactive’s (ASX:ICI) has today acquired a  majority stake in game studio Storms alongside three of Asia’s top telcos.

iCandy announced it will acquire 51% of Southeast Asia-based game development and publishing company Storms for an all-shares price of $8 million.

Storms is strategically owned by three leading Telcos in Asia, namely Singtel, AIS and SK Telecom – all with the view that a merged company will advance the goal of publishing games for the Metaverse and Web 3.0.

With a revenue for $4.3 million in 2021 and $7.6 million in liquid assets, Storms has been led by an experienced management team hailing from Google, Lazada, Amanotes and Paktor – all of whom are expected to join the iCandy management team post acquisition.

“We recognise many synergies between Storms and iCandy, with Storms making a great complementary addition to iCandy’s horizontally-integrated gaming business model,” said David Yin, CEO at Storms.

“At the same time, this acquisition strengthens Storms’ ability to be a trailblazer in delivering more fun to the gaming community through efficient game development time and at scale,” he added.

 

Rationale for the acquisition

iCandy believes the acquisition will realise potential business synergies between both companies, enhancing iCandy’s game development and publishing capabilities.

iCandy’ game-changing  acquisition of Lemon Sky Studios has shown the company’s ability to integrate and leverage another company’s assets to strengthen its own game development and design capability.

Storm is seen as complementary to the core business of Lemon Sky Studios, as both companies will distinctly augment iCandy’s business processes along different parts of its game production flow.

The acquisition will also give iCandy access to Storms’ extensive network of telcos and super apps, and is likely to increase opportunities to monetise.

iCandy’s Board believes that the company will be in a better position to extend the reach of its portfolio of projects through leveraging Storms’ expansive games publishing network in the Metaverse, the fastest growing market for gaming experiences.

Jae Shin Lee, Head of Global Business Development of Shareholder SK Telecom, believes the merger will bring more games for the Metaverse to tech-savvy audiences.

“Together, iCandy and Storms will be well positioned to create and publish games for the Metaverse and Web 3.0, as well as to bring Korean games into the Southeast Asian market”,  Lee said.

iCandy is already well positioned to make AAA games for the Metaverse following the transformative acquisition of Lemon Sky Animation.

Lemon Sky has an impressive portfolio of video games, including major game titles such as Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, The Last of Us Part 2, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and many more.

 

Where to from here

Post-acquisition, iCandy says it will focus on integrating and harnessing the synergies of the combined businesses to drive accretive value for shareholders.

The company’s 51% acquisition of Storms for a total consideration of $8 million will be settled via the issuance of new fully paid ordinary shares when the agreement becomes unconditional.

The issue price of the ICI shares is expected to be 12.6c, derived from the 7-day volume-weighted  average price  immediately prior to 5 February.

In addition, the existing shareholders of Storms will also have a put option to sell the remaining 49% of Storms to iCandy, which will be similarly settled via the issuance of new shares of iCandy.

iCandy is founded and backed by Fatfish Group Ltd (ASX: FFG), which holds a significant stake of 192.5 million Shares in iCandy through its subsidiaries.

Other significant shareholders of iCandy include Animoca Brands, a global leader in Metaverse gaming recently valued at over USD $5 billion.

This article was developed in collaboration with iCandy, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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