Keywords Studios PLC (LON:KWS) has acquired a trio of companies in a move to boost its translation, marketing and audio recording capabilities.
The first €7mln (£5.9mln) acquisition, Kantan, is an Irish developer of automated translation technology and will be bought for €3.5mln in cash as well as 38,699 shares in Keywords. The remaining €2.9mln will be paid in a mix of cash and shares based on performance targets for the three-years following completion of the purchase.
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Keywords is also buying Ichi Holdings, a London-based creative and marketing services firm serving the video game, sports and entertainment sectors, for £3.2mln to be paid in a mixture of cash and shares.
The final acquisition is Syllabes, a provider of audio recording and French and English casting services founded by Nicolas Charbonneaux, a voice actor who has provided French character audio for characters in major video game franchises such as Assassin’s Creed.
Keywords will pay C$325,000 (£186,050) for the company initially, with another C$150,000 (£86,000) payable subject to performance targets for the first year from completion of the acquisition.
"We look forward to working with the highly experienced and creative teams at Kantan, Ichi and Syllabes, to support their growth as part of the Keywords family as they, in turn, help us to build further upon our reputation as the leading provider of highly specialised video games services around the world”, said Keywords chief executive Andrew Day.
Analysts at Liberum said the acquisitions will “help Keywords in its goal to becoming the ‘go to’ technical and creative services platform for the global video games industry” by building out its technology, machine learning capabilities, branding expertise and asset base, although they added that they will want to see “further evidence of key contract opportunities for streaming [and] free-to-play” segments.
The shares climbed 1.5% to 1,460p in early trading on Tuesday.