Video game services group Keywords Studios said today it was willing to agree to a £1.96 billion takeover by EQT if the private equity firm made a formal offer at that price.The Dublin-based company said EQT yesterday had proposed to buy the company for £24.50 per share, a price that the Keywords board could recommend to shareholders.EQT has until July 3 to make a formal offer or walk away.
Shares in the video game services company, which caters to the developers of some of the world's biggest games, were up 5.5% in early trade."Due to the timing of the cost saving programmes and the reduction of volumes, first-half adjusted operating margins are expected to be lower," Keywords said in a statement.
Keywords said first-half organic growth was dented by deferral or cancellation of some larger game development projects amid a slow ramp-up in content production in Hollywood. The company provides technical and creative services to the video games industry, including producing games or parts of games for other developers, translating games into different languages, and providing sound effects.The emergence of streaming models and the shift to mobile have increased growth opportunities for the video gaming market and made companies in the industry attractive as buy-out targets.