Accretive acquisition extends SilverBirch's foothold in game publishing
TORONTO, July 31 /CNW/ - SilverBirch Inc. (SVB: TSXV) announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Lighthouse Interactive Game Publishing B.V., a Netherlands-based international video game publisher with offices in Montreal, Toronto and London, England.
Lighthouse was formed in 2005 by two successful industry veterans with a combined 35+ year track record in the gaming sector. The company has published over 20 games to date and generated $2,600,000 in revenues for the year ending 2007. Lighthouse is immediately accretive for SilverBirch, based upon an approximate multiple of 1.2 times revenues paid for the acquisition.
In addition, Lighthouse announces it has secured the worldwide publishing rights to the Massively Multiplayer Online Real-Time Strategy Game ("MMORTS") Dawn of Fantasy (http://dawnoffantasy.com) developed by Reverie World Studios. The game immerses players in an intense story of a battle for supremacy in the magical realm of Mythador(TM) that include Dragons, Elves and Orcs. Lighthouse co-founder, Erik Schreuder said, "We worked hard to make this happen, and securing the publishing rights to such an amazing game is a fitting start to the new relationship."
Wojtek Kawczynski, SilverBirch SVP, and General Manager of the gaming unit added, "This is an unprecedented opportunity for a Canadian company to become a fully integrated developer and publisher of games for all platforms and genres, and to acquire a company with the reputation and stature of Lighthouse is a real coup."
In other news, the Company announced that its board has approved the granting of 500,000 options at $0.25 to Aberdeen Gould Capital Markets Ltd. and 400,000 options at $0.25 to Bristol Capital Ltd. for consulting services. Options will have a term of three years and will partially vest every three months, subject to exchange approval.
About SilverBirch Inc.
Toronto-based SilverBirch is a fully integrated developer, publisher and distributor of high quality interactive media content and, through its Jambo Mobile division, provides mobile marketing and direct-to-consumer mobile content. In addition, the company is a multi-platform video game developer and operates an MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role-playing game) game called Metin 2 (see www.metin2.us). For more information, please visit www.silverbirchinc.com.
About Lighthouse Interactive
Lighthouse Interactive Game Publishing B.V. is a fast growing publisher of interactive entertainment with offices established in Toronto and Montreal, Canada, Haarlem, The Netherlands and London, England. The company is focused on bringing strong titles to the worldwide market in a wide array of genres including: RPG, Simulation, Adventure, Action and Strategy. Staffed with industry veterans, Lighthouse is the right choice for developers looking to bring their products to a worldwide audience. For more information visit: www.lighthouse-interactive.com
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