Fantasy Flight and Asmodee merging

[bayonetbrant]

http://fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=5212

Fantasy Flight Games to Merge into the Asmodee Group (TM)
A Press Release and Q&A on the Merger


FANTASY FLIGHT GAMES® TO MERGE INTO ASMODEE GROUP™

Paris, France; Roseville MN, November 17th, 2014. Today, Asmodee – a leading international publisher and distributor – and Fantasy Flight Games – a worldwide recognized hobby games publisher – proudly announced the pending merger of the two companies. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Asmodee Group of game companies will gain access to Fantasy Flight Games' strong sales, operational and marketing infrastructure in North America, as well as Fantasy Flight Games' almost-20 years of expertise in game development and multi-language game manufacturing.

Fantasy Flight Games will benefit from Asmodee's impressive distribution and marketing reach in Europe, greatly improving its product placement and organized play initiatives across the continent.

"I am delighted to welcome Christian and his team to the Asmodee Group," said Stéphane Carville, CEO of Asmodee Group. "Fantasy Flight Games is a highly reputed publisher within the gaming community. It has demonstrated its ability to create great games and to establish fantastic relationships within the hobby games market and large entertainment companies. Together, we will continue to bring unique, innovative and high-quality games to gamers worldwide."

"Fantasy Flight Games has enjoyed tremendous growth over the last 10 years," said Christian T. Petersen, CEO and founder of Fantasy Flight Games. "By joining forces with Asmodee, we'll be able to continue that growth, expand our international marketing capabilities, and create additional career opportunities for our terrific staff. Most importantly, we can do this while staying true to our vision of creating great products for the global hobby games market."

Fantasy Flight Games will continue to operate out of its Roseville, MN headquarters, where its hardworking creative teams will keep creating those ambitious and narrative hobby games experiences for which Fantasy Flight Games has become known. Christian T. Petersen will continue as the CEO of Fantasy Flight Games while also becoming a significant shareholder of the combined entity. No staffing changes are anticipated.

Asmodee and Fantasy Flight Games Merger Q&A

A few questions related to the Asmodee and Fantasy Flight Games ("FFG") merger have been anticipated below.

How will FFG's and Asmodee's product lines be affected?

FFG's new and existing product lines will continue to be developed by FFG and sold under the FFG logo. FFG will stay a fully independent publisher in the Asmodee Group, and intends to keep creating the best games possible. A few of FFG's products, whose identity may be deemed a better fit under a different Asmodee Group brand, may transition within the group.

Similarly, Asmodee's existing and new products will continue to be developed by Asmodee's creative staff and/or affiliate studios, and published under the Asmodee, or the independent studios', logo. Those Asmodee games deemed a great fit for FFG may transition to FFG's catalog.

The Asmodee Group has close business ties with a number of important board game publishers, such as Repos, Matagot, Ystari and others. How will the merger impact those relationships?

The union gives Asmodee and its partners access to FFG's strong logistical and operational presence in North America, as well as access to FFG's proprietary development tools and manufacturing infrastructure. Beyond those advantages, the identity, product development, marketing (such as website and convention presence) and sales representation of Asmodee's close publishing partners will be unaffected.

FFG has many important intellectual property licenses. How will these be affected, and will other Asmodee partners and affiliates be able to take advantage of those licenses?

FFG expects to retain all of its licensing relationships, and will work with both Asmodee and its licensors to extend licensing potential to those parts of the Asmodee Group that makes sense for the overall product strategy and the individual license.

How will North American hobby market retailers and distributors be affected by this merger?

There are no immediate plans to change any of FFG's or Asmodee's hobby market retailer or distributor relationships in North America.

Most game retailers outside the U.S.A purchase FFG's product from international distributors, many of whom translate and publish FFG's product in their local languages. How will these distributors work with the combined entity?

For the foreseeable future, it is anticipated that current and upcoming FFG products will continue to be localized and sold by FFG's existing international partners. Asmodee intends to work with those same distributors to broaden product availability, marketing presence, and organized play support where possible.

When should international players expect to see improvements to FFG's organized play programs?

While incremental progress will happen sooner, players should expect that it will take more than a year for all intended improvements to be implemented.

About Fantasy Flight Games and the Asmodee Group

Fantasy Flight Games is a leading hobby games market publisher in the board, card, roleplaying, and miniature game categories. Fantasy Flight Games' best-known titles include games based on licenses such as Battlestar Galactica, The Lord of the Rings, Sid Meier's Civilization, and Star Wars, as well as proprietary titles such as Arkham Horror and Descent: Journeys in the Dark. Fantasy Flight Games' principal executive offices are located at 1995 County Road B-2 West, St. Paul, MN 55113, United States of America.

Asmodee Group is a leading international games publisher and distributor with operations located in Europe, the United States, and China. Asmodee's best known titles, either published or distributed on behalf of key publishing partners, include Ticket to Ride, Splendor, 7 Wonders, Dixit, Takenoko, Abyss, Timeline, Dobble, Jungle Speed, and Werewolves of Millers Hollow. In some European countries, Asmodee also distributes trading card games such as Pokemon, Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh!. Asmodee's head office is located at 18 rue Jacqueline Auriol, 78041 Guyancourt France.

[Martok]

Wow.  So maybe this means we'll see an increase in board games more commonly see in Europe?  :D 

[Nefaro]

Wow.  So maybe this means we'll see an increase in board games more commonly see in Europe?  :D

I sure hope it's not at the expense of the stuff we get from FF.

Would much rather have Fantasy Flight games than Asmodee type stuff.  I just can't get into Euros and most of the Family oriented stuff.  So hopefully they don't choke out the FFG designing style with their own.

[Arctic Blast]

Wow.  So maybe this means we'll see an increase in board games more commonly see in Europe?  :D

I sure hope it's not at the expense of the stuff we get from FF.

Would much rather have Fantasy Flight games than Asmodee type stuff.  I just can't get into Euros and most of the Family oriented stuff.  So hopefully they don't choke out the FFG designing style with their own.

Actually, Asmodee has a LOT of stuff that's pretty far from your typical economic Euro. Matagot (Cyclades, Kemet) is one of the companies under them, as is Days of Wonder (Memoir '44, Ticket to Ride, Small World) who they bought earlier this year, and Repos (Cash n' Guns, 7 Wonders, City of Horror, Ghost Stories, Rampage). Their own releases are pretty wide ranging : Fire & Axe, Claustrophobia, Dixit, Ascension, Eclipse, Formula D, Libertalia, Okko, Mission : Red Planet, Seasons. They're pretty all over the place.

Thus far, they've avoided pushing any of their subsidiaries away from their previous directions. It wouldn't make a lot of sense to do so in this case, either.

[Nefaro]

Wow.  So maybe this means we'll see an increase in board games more commonly see in Europe?  :D

I sure hope it's not at the expense of the stuff we get from FF.

Would much rather have Fantasy Flight games than Asmodee type stuff.  I just can't get into Euros and most of the Family oriented stuff.  So hopefully they don't choke out the FFG designing style with their own.

Actually, Asmodee has a LOT of stuff that's pretty far from your typical economic Euro. Matagot (Cyclades, Kemet) is one of the companies under them, as is Days of Wonder (Memoir '44, Ticket to Ride, Small World) who they bought earlier this year, and Repos (Cash n' Guns, 7 Wonders, City of Horror, Ghost Stories, Rampage). Their own releases are pretty wide ranging : Fire & Axe, Claustrophobia, Dixit, Ascension, Eclipse, Formula D, Libertalia, Okko, Mission : Red Planet, Seasons. They're pretty all over the place.

Thus far, they've avoided pushing any of their subsidiaries away from their previous directions. It wouldn't make a lot of sense to do so in this case, either.

Yeah, I realize Asmodee shouldn't be portrayed as simply a "Eurogame Company".  They actually do have a wide range of stuff, and I have a few already.  Hell, I even ordered Claustrophobia recently.  Those aren't 'eurogames'.

As with any company buyout, I'm only concerned about trends changing with the child company.  Ownership changes often include personnel changes to some extent so there's always a chance - for better or worse - that something will differ.  Being an acquisition by a similar company in the same business may not be much to worry about, however, if it's not being completely absorbed.  :)

[JasonPratt]

Also, in their press release they were highly explicit about saying WE NO MESSY WITH FFG!! At most they only foresaw using FFG to distribute a few other games that fit within FFG's established styles and themes, and vice versa.

So more people may be able to play LotR LGC, and more people may be able to play Ascension. Win/Win.