Cambridge, UK - The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ : CG) is a leading investment firm, today announced it has acquired Jagex. Jagex is a prominent publisher and developer of video games. Terms of the transaction were not made public.
Headquartered in Cambridge, UK, and employing over 450 people, Jagex is one of the largest and most successful British video game studios, developing and publishing video games on PC and mobile. Jagex is most well-known for its online role-playing game franchise RuneScape which has attracted almost 300 million accounts of players since its inception 20 years ago. Jagex has expanded its RuneScape titles to a $1 billion franchise [11. These games are played by millions of players around the world and are currently gaining immense popularity. 2020 saw record numbers of subscribing players and more than half which are in the United States.
The Carlyle Group is one of the world's largest and most diverse investment firms , with $230 billion of assets under management. Carlyle will make use of its global network, knowledge and resources to support Jagex as it continues to grow by advancing the core RuneScape franchise through investments in R&D and increased rates of content release, as well as the launch of new games to diversify its portfolio and engage with an even wider community of players. Equity for the investment was provided by Carlyle Partners (CP) VII and Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (CETP) IV funds.
Phil Mansell, CEO of Jagex Phil Mansell, Jagex's CEO, said "I am so proud of the fact that Jagex has joined forces with Carlyle, a prestigious investment group that believes in the potential of Jagex, our vision for growth, and will help us in expanding our multi-year growth plan. We will continue to expand our gaming teams to develop and release more exciting content for RuneScape and Old School RuneScape. We will continue to provide thrilling experiences for our players, expand our global community, develop new games to expand and further explore the RuneScape universe, and offer our expertise to publish games from third parties from like-minded online game developers, and invest in the incredible technology and talent that drives this all."
Patrick McCarter, Carlyle's Managing Director Patrick McCarter, Carlyle's Managing Director, said: "The global video game market is huge and growing, and within it the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), sub-sector, is particularly attractive. We've been impressed by Jagex's market position, strong track record of growth in revenue and market share, as well as the experience and passion of the team."
Michael Wand, Managing Director at Carlyle Michael Wand, Carlyle's managing director, said: "RuneScape is one of the most enduring RPG franchises, and has a fantastic and committed player base. We are looking forward to drawing on the full resources of Carlyle to assist Phil and his team to continue to grow the existing RuneScape franchise, as well as launching new, exciting ones. We believe that with additional investment and innovation, Jagex can build on its status as one of the most exciting video game developers , both for the new and existing generations of MMORPG players."
The end of the road
Notes to Editors: 2020 represented an event year for Jagex:
RuneScape and Old School RuneScape achieved peak popularity and a new all-time high of online players with more than 1.2 million players in addition to the millions of players who play RuneScape for free. Jagex continued to invest in the development of new content for the RuneScape franchise, began the early stages of production of new games, and hired top-quality game development and publishing talent. This resulted in more than 70 new job openings which increased the number of employees by c.20% annually.
2021 is the 20th anniversary celebration of RuneScape live game operations:
Epic 20th anniversary-themed content will be added to both games RuneScape will also be available for mobile devices for both iOS and Android, and deliver cross-play capabilities between mobile and PC platforms. Jagex will continue to expand its teams of game producers for the development of new online games in addition to expanding its publishing services to live games developed by its partner game studios under its publishing division that is third party, Jagex Partners The first Jagex Partners title will be released later this year.
Media Enquiries: The Carlyle Group EMEA: Andrew Kenny / +44 7816 176120 / andrew.kenny@carlyle.com USA: Brittany Berliner / +1 212 813-4839 / brittany.berliner@carlyle.com
Jagex Rich Eddy: rich.eddy@jagex.com Jon Goddard: jon.goddard@jagex.com
About Jagex A leader in the creation of immersive and captivating live games on PC and mobile devices, Jagex's most popular MMORPG, RuneScape, has welcomed almost 300 million player accounts to its world and has become a $1 billion lifetime revenue franchise. Runescape Private Servers Today the RuneScape franchise goes beyond operating live games Our games are live games that connect and motivate millions of players with experiences and content inside and outside of inexhaustible game worlds. Both RuneScape and Old School RuneScape both on PC and mobile, provide constantly changing, highly active environments and our community-focussed development ethos allows players to be a part of how their games are developed. We are expanding our portfolio of games with new franchises and IP that will add life and excitement to the games of the future. Jagex employs over 450 people in its Cambridge headquarters. Career information can be found at www.jagex.com/careers
About The Carlyle Group: The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ : CCG) is an international investment company that has deep industry knowledge and invests private capital in three business areas: Global Private Equity and Global Credit, and Investment Solutions. Carlyle has $230 billion of assets under management as at September 30, 2020. Its purpose is to invest intelligently and create value for its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we reside and invest. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,800 employees in 30 offices across six continents. Further information is available on www.carlyle.com. Follow The Carlyle Group on Twitter @OneCarlyle.
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