Wicket Gaming AB, a Swedish game development company, has recently entered into an agreement to acquire 100 per cent of the Wegesrand Group.
Through the acquisition of Wegesrand, Wicket Gaming will broaden the portfolio within the EdTech and media verticals. This gives the company a more diversified product portfolio while the EdTech leg contributes with important knowledge transfer, according to the company’s CEO, Eric de Basso.
The acquisition comprises six companies: Wegesrand GmbH & Co. KG, Wegesrand Verwaltungsgesellschaft GmbH, Unger & Fiedler Transmedia Studio GmbH, Linked Dimensions GmbH, Indieadvisor & Company GmbH & Co. KG and IndieAdvisor Holding GmbH (together the “Wegesrand Group”). The sellers are Wegesrand Medienbeteiligungsgesellschaft mbH and Thorsten Unger, respectively.
Founded in 2015, Wicket Gaming’s business concept is based on developing and distributing so-called free-to-play games in the sports genre based on proprietary brands. Since its inception, the company has worked to develop its first title, Cricket Manager, which is a managerial game in cricket for mobile devices that aims to create and own its own cricket club and compete against other players around the world. Its goal is to create one of the world’s most popular cricket manager games for mobile devices and to use a technical platform to broaden the game portfolio to include other sports manager games.
Speaking about the acquisition, Chief Executive Officer of Wicket Gaming, Eric de Basso, said:
“We are very pleased to welcome the Wegesrand Group with its talented team to our family. We have a common vision of being able to become a bigger player in the Games, Media, iGaming and Education verticals. I look forward to creating long-term shareholder value together with Thorsten Unger and the rest of the Wegesrand team.”
Headquartered in Mönchengladbach, Wegesrand is a gaming, media and digital education group with several offices in Germany. The group consists of approximately 20 full-time employees. It possesses expertise in computer game development, game design and digital education, in addition to which the platform also has several in-house developed titles which are planned to be launched in the next two years. It is expected to have revenues of 2.0 – 2.5 million euros in 2021 with positive operating results and has shown good historical growth.
As part of the deal, BDO is acting as financial advisor and Eversheds Sutherland (Stockholm and Munich) is acting as legal advisor to Wicket Gaming in the transaction.
With the new company structure, Wicket Gaming will have a strong presence in Germany and have more than 25 employees with an estimated turnover of SEK 25 million in 2022. The company will in the future increase its focus on the games and EdTech segments (serious games and playful learning).
The group is in a strong organic growth phase within the EdTech segment, and through company acquisitions in games and EdTech, growth is expected to increase further. In the near future, Wicket Gaming plans to expand its presence on the European continent.
