Posted in: Games, Jagex, Video Games | Tagged: CVC Capital Partners, Haveli Investments
CVC Capital Partners & Haveli Investments To Acquire Jagex
RuneScape publisher Jagex is getting acquired in a new joint venture between CVC Capital Partners and Haveli Investments.
Article Summary
- CVC Capital Partners and Haveli Investments set to acquire Jagex.
- Concerns rise over potential layoffs, with acquisition terms not disclosed.
- Phil Mansell, Jagex CEO, welcomes the strategic partnership for growth.
- Jagex to focus on its 'forever games' strategy, enhancing player community.
In a brief announcement this week, CVC Capital Partners and Haveli Investments announced their intention to acquire RuneScape publisher Jagex. The move kind of comes out of nowhere and has already got the game industry worried on social media that the move is being made simply to add the company to their portfolio, with the possibility of more industry layoffs on the way. Especially after learning the terms of the transaction were kept private, and no word has come out from anyone about what it will mean for the company in the longterm. You can read the PR that was sent out this week below, as we now standby for the deal to go through and see what changes they have in mind for the publisher.
CVC Capital Partners, headquartered in Luxembourg, is one the world's largest private equity firms, with over €188bn assets managed within its portfolio. With investments in the global sports field, such as the Gujarat Titans, LaLiga, Lique De Football Professionnel, Premiership Rugby and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), CVC Capital Partners has rich form in growing fan-focused businesses on the global stage. CVC Capital Partners will support Jagex by leveraging its expertise and resources to assist the company's continued subscriber and revenue growth, alongside its community driven philosophy as it looks to build upon the success of RuneScape and Old School RuneScape and create more forever games under the Jagex brand.
Haveli Investments is an Austin-based private equity firm that seeks to partner with innovative companies, entrepreneurs and management teams. Haveli's Gaming Fund has previously invested in London-based Omeda Studios, whose title Predecessor is currently in Early Access, Montreal-based Behaviour Interactive, the developer and publisher behind the hit online, genre-leading horror game Dead by Daylight and Tel Aviv-based Candivore, the developer and publisher of the category leading mobile hit Match Masters. Jagex was acquired by Carlyle in 2021, supporting Jagex with the acquisitions of Pipeworks and Gamepires in 2022, while Jagex continued to deliver year-on-year performance gains.
Phil Mansell, CEO, Jagex, said, "I'm delighted to welcome CVC Capital Partners and Haveli Investments as strategic partners for Jagex. CVC and Haveli will help Jagex build on our portfolio of forever games, furthering our aims of supporting and growing our community of forever fans. Together we'll create more of the experiences our fans love, innovate to empower our players further, and build new forever games that capture imaginations." He continued, "The support from Carlyle has been exceptional, and that success has positioned Jagex for the future. With the continued growth of our flagship RuneScape franchise, we're crafting more adventures to delight our forever fans, and we're excited about the future, as we create new experiences that play to our strengths of putting our communities at the heart of everything we do."