UKGF funded company acquired by Thunderful
Coatsink, part of the first round of companies funded by the UK Games Fund, announced on Monday that they had been acquired by Swedish company Thunderful for an upfront consideration of GBP 23 million plus an earn-out component potentially resulting in a maximal total consideration of GBP 65.5 million.
Based in Sunderland, Coatsink was formed in December 2009. Today it is a diverse and versatile development studio and publisher, which has built a strong industry reputation. Recent accolades include the critically acclaimed Oculus Quest launch title Shadow Point, the Oculus Go title Augmented Empire, the development partnership with Boneloaf on Gang Beasts, and the publishing partnership on the hit title Onward.
Coatsink was selected for UKGF support in 2015 for the development of their proprietary IP, Vantage Point. However, the company has also worked with the UK Games Fund team as part of our predecessor project, The Prototype Fund back in 2011. More recently, Coatsink was named as Studio of the year and Co-Founder Tom Beardsmore won the Studio Leader award at the 2018 UK Games Fund Awards. It was at this event that the Coatsink team showcased one of their well-known titles, Phogs.
Paul Durrant, Director at UK Games Fund, said:
“Exciting news like this from a funded company always makes us pause to remember our early meetings with them ‘back in the day,’ We remember being inspired by Tom and Paul’s ambition and vision from the very beginning. Whenever we fund new-start studios we reflect on whether we’ll be seeing a tremendous outcome for them sometime in the not-too-distant future. Coatsink’s incredible journey helps to remind us that those reflections can indeed become very real.”
Tom Beardsmore, CEO and Co-Founder at Coatsink, said:
“We wouldn’t be where we are without the support of organisations like the UK Games Fund. It can be incredibly intimidating to pitch for funding during the early days of running a studio, but the UKGF team always provided such a welcoming and friendly opportunity and process. We will be eternally grateful to them.”
Thunderful has outlined its strategy has been to expand its games arm by adding attractive platform partnerships and publishing deals. The acquisition will allow both companies to accelerate and strengthen ongoing and future development projects.
Brjann Sigurgeirsson, Thunderful Group CEO, said:
”We have established a good relationship with the founders and key personnel of Coatsink and believe that their strong work ethics and corporate culture will be a very valuable strong complement to Thunderful’s existing businesses. Although it’s just a first step, this is a good example of how we intend to leverage the Group’s powerful cash flow going forward”
Coatsink will remain an independent development studio and will be reported as part of Thunderful Games.