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One of Australia’s most notable game developers has been sold to Nacon, a French video game accessories company that also publishes games.
Nacon is buying Big Ant Studios, the developers of various rugby, cricket, and tennis games, for a maximum price of €35 million, with a guarantee of €15M at the time the ink hits the paper. Big Ant might get even more money if it reaches certain performance targets through 2024, Nacon said in its announcement.
The deal is expected to officially close in February, pending final conditions.
Nacon said the acquisition of Big Ant not only gives the publisher a number of new IP assets but also Big Ant’s “remarkable know-how” in the world of games. Nacon also gets a foothold in the Asia-Pacific region with its buyout of Big Ant, the company said. Before this, Nacon primarily targeted the European market.
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Big Ant founder and CEO, Ross Symons, will remain the head of Big Ant and Nacon promises that the Australian studio will have a “high degree of autonomy” following the sale. Big Ant will focus on the creative side while Nacon will provide its sales and marketing support.
Big Ant was founded in 2001 and as such, it is one of the oldest continually operating game studios in the whole of Australia.
Nacon said Big Ant’s cricket video games are of particular interest to the company. Cricket is said to be among the most popular sports across the whole world and Big Ant has a corner on the market with its Don Bradman Cricket series.
“This acquisition represents a significant step in Nacon’s strategy,” CEO Alain Falc said in a statement. “It significantly strengthens our ability to create new sports games that match our ambitions in the AA segment. Through this transaction, we intend to become the world’s leading player in rugby, tennis and cricket. Nacon is also proud to welcome the talents of Big Ant, one of the most creative studios in the industry, and we will support its growth on new, even more ambitious projects.”
As for Big Ant, Symons said his company is “delighted” to join Nacon, which he says will give his teams a “unique opportunity to significant increase our production resources…”
