LDC cashes in as it continues exit from games developer
LDC has sold a £19.2m stake in video game developer Team17, cashing in on the Wakefield company’s strong performance since its stock market flotation last year.
The private equity firm sold a 4.6% stake in the company last night at 320p per share, at nearly double the price when it listed in May 2018 at 165p.
LDC had bought a 33% stake in 2016 for £16.5m, before selling half as part of the company going public. It then sold a £16.4m stake in March, at 225p per share, and continued its exit last night.
LDC had initially revealed plans to sell 5m shares but said “strong investor demand” resulted in it selling 6m. It still owns 6.5% of the company, which is valued at £28m.
Team17 has enjoyed phenomenal growth since LDC’s investment. In 2016 it had annual revenues of £13.5m, which had increased to £43.2m in 2018.
In the first six months of 2019 it achieved sales of more than £30m, boosted by the release of titles including Genesis Alpha One, My Time at Portia, and Hell Let Loose.
Team17 was founded in 1991 and made its name with the iconic Worms franchise. It creates and sells a range of successful titles worldwide through major digital distributors such as Sony, Microsoft, Steam, Apple and Google.
