£20.1m investment made into virtual reality game developer
Mercia Asset Management has completed a £20.1m third-party investment round into developer and publisher of virtual reality games, nDreams.
The investment comes from Aonic AB, a Stockholm-based video game investor. The firm will support nDreams with specialist technology and infrastructure to enable them to maintain their independent identity and creative freedom.
Following this investment round, Henley in Arden-based Mercia now holds a 33.2% fully diluted direct stake in nDreams, valued at £25.8m. This is an increase of £8.1m from its September carrying value.
nDreams virtual reality games include Phantom: Covert Ops, Fracked and Far Cry VR: Dive Into Insanity. It says it has a pipeline of future projects already in development, including games for the PlayStation VR2.
It also recently expanded its development capabilities by announcing two new studios, nDreams Studio Orbital and nDreams Studio Elevation. In August 2021, nDreams appointed former Codemasters CEO, Frank Sagnier, as its Non-executive Chairman.
Julian Viggars, CIO of Mercia Asset Management and nDreams’ Board Director, said: “This is an important development for nDreams and one that will enable it to further strengthen its position as a leading studio in the VR market.
“Aonic’s investment is also an indicator of the potential scale of VR technology and nDreams is well placed to capture the opportunities this presents. This material fair value increase is another example of the underlying value creation potential in our direct investment portfolio, which is now being recognised by co-investors and acquirers.”
Patrick O’Luanaigh, co-founder and CEO of nDreams, said: “This investment is a pivotal moment for nDreams, and I’m delighted to now have the combined support of Mercia and Aonic, who share the same ambitious vision that we do. This investment is the rocket fuel needed to accelerate our rapid growth, as VR continues its trajectory towards becoming a truly mass-market technology.”
