<http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&username=xa-4b7a47cd235bbe31> *Reliance Big Entertainment Ltd* plans to acquire 50% stake in British gaming company *Codemasters*.
*Zapak Digital Entertainment* - the gaming division of Reliance Big will oversee the investment in Codemasters. Reliance will buy this stake from existing investors in Codemasters and will manage the company’s operations alongside existing investor — *Balderton Capital.* Transaction Reference: Reuters<http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINSGE63501V20100406> Transaction Note Codemasters, founded by two brothers- *Richard and David Darling* in 1986, has annual sales of over $150 mn. The company is famously known for its *Lord of the Rings Online, Colin McRae Rally and Formula One *games. Balderton became a principal investor in the company when they purchased a 40% stake in Codemasters back in 2005. That was followed by a further 30% acquisition the following year. The cost of acquisition had not been disclosed. The company owned 100% of Codemasters’ equity prior to the Reliance acquisition. Codemasters also received a $99 mn investment from *Goldman Sachs* in 2007. Balderton was founded in 2000 by *Benchmark Capital*- the leading US Silicon Valley venture firm. The fun was earlier known as Benchmark Europe. Balderton formally became an independent firm in 2007 Zapak is the country’s largest gaming company, with interests in online casual games, massively multiplayer online games (MMOG) publishing, chain of gaming cafes and physical distribution of gaming software. In 2008, Reliance Big had acquired *DTS's Digital Images business* and also a majority stake in US based *Willow TV* - portal for live internet streaming of all major cricket events from across the world. - -- Regards Hardik Shah -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""GLOBAL SPECULATORS"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/globalspeculators?hl=en.
