PKF advises Team17 on €100m acquisition of Astragon Entertainment

Team17 has acquired Astragon Entertainment, a leading German-based simulation games developer, in a €100m deal supported by PKF.

London-listed Team17 Group plc is a global games entertainment label, creative partner and developer of indie premium video games, headquartered in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. Founded in 1990 and led by CEO Debbie Bestwick, Team17’s best-known titles include the Worms franchise, The Escapists and Overcooked.

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Dusseldorf, Astragon is a leading developer, publisher and distributor of sophisticated ‘working’ simulation games – including Firefighting Simulator, Police Simulator, Bus Simulator (pictured) and Construction Simulator – targeting a broad audience from young enthusiasts to technical experts and casual gamers.

A PKF team led by David Lucas in Dublin and Sam Phillips in Bristol, with the support of Martin Franke in Cologne, provided a full suite of buyside advisory services – including financial due diligence and deal negotiation support – for Team17 on the acquisition of Astragon. It comes after PKF advised on Team17’s recent acquisition of US-based indie publisher The Label in a deal worth up to $40m, and last year’s acquisition of StoryToys, the Irish developer of educational apps.

Mark Crawford, chief financial officer of Team17, said: “The PKF teams across Bristol, Dublin, Cologne and New Jersey have been invaluable in supporting us throughout the deal process on two further cross-border acquisitions. Once again, they worked seamlessly with our management team, and from the outset we really felt Sam, David, Martin and their colleagues understood our objectives and shared our commitment to achieving this successful completion.”

Sam Phillips, transaction services director at PKF Francis Clark, said: “Working closely with our PKF colleagues, it was a pleasure to support Team17 in completing another major international transaction, following the acquisition of StoryToys last year. With its expertise in high-quality simulation games, Astragon represents an exciting addition to the Team17 Group and another milestone in the group’s growth strategy.”

David Lucas, corporate finance partner at PKF O’Connor Leddy Holmes, said: “We were really pleased once again to support Team17 on the two further successful acquisitions, Astragon in Germany and The Label in the USA. This is another example of how the PKF International network can support our clients.

“I’d like to thank Sam Phillips and his team in PKF Francis Clark and Martin Franke and his team in PKF Fasselt Schlage for their work on the Astragon deal, and to thank Jonathan Moore and Andrew Shu from PKF O’Connor Davies for their assistance on The Label deal. Congratulations to Debbie Bestwick, Mark Crawford and team on another great deal completed and we wish them continued success.”

The PKF International network is made up of 220 independent accountancy firms in 150 countries. More information can be found at pkf.com.

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