Embracer to buy Ticket to Ride board game maker Asmodee for $3 billion

The Embracer Group wants to buy card and board game giant Asmodee Digital for $3 billion.

Embracer has broken into the board game market with the proposed purchase of Asmodee, the company behind popular board games like Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne, and Pandemic, as well as card games like Exploding Kittens, for $3 billion. The entertainment titan is offering 2.75 billion Euros total ($3 billion) for Asmodee, with 350 million Euros paid to principal shareholder PAI alongside 2.4 billion Euros in cash and debt refinancing. The buyout would be accreditive and boost operational EBITD by 30%.

This is nearly 3x what Embracer offered for Borderlands developer Gearbox Software, but to be fair, Asmodee has an impressive track record with over 1.1 billion Euros earned in FY21, 22 wholly-owned studios, over 300+ owned IPs, 970+ games, and sold 45 million board games in 2020. Asmodee has made games for leading labels like Pokemon, Harry Potter, Disney, Marvel, Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars.

Asmodee would form the ninth label at Embracer alongside Gearbox, THQ Nordic, Deep Silver, and more.

Embracer Group's business is widespread and diversified, ranging from TV, film, books, music, and of course video games. Now it also has the might of board gaming under its command. The company wants to create a cross-media synergy with its owned IPs, which now include 560+ franchises.