Italian developer-publisher Digital Bros has moved to acquire all of the Starbreeze assets held by South Korean developer Smilegate Holdings for €19.2 million ($21.2 million).
The proposed deal would result in Digital Bros holding a 30.18 percent stake in Starbreeze, which successfully exited reconstruction in December 2019, along with 40.83 percent of the company’s voting rights.
Smilegate currently holds a number of Starbreeze assets, including a convertible bond of SEK 215 million ($22.5 million) issued by Starbreeze with a strike price of SEK 2.25 ($0.24) per share, credit of approximately €13.8 million ($15.2 million) included in Starbreeze’s reconstruction plan, and 3.6 million Star A shares and 6 million Star B shares.
It the purchase goes through, Digital Bros would also be obliged to table a public tender offer for the residual Starbreeze shares.
As it stands, Digital Bros is already Starbreeze’s majority shareholder, with the group holding 7 percent of the company’s share capital and 28.6 percent of its voting rights. Through its subsidiary 505 Games, the Milan-based firm also publishes the console versions of Payday 2.
Explaining its reasoning for the deal, Digital Bros said it would allow it to “exert greater control over the corporate strategy of Stabreeze going forward.”