On Thursday, Electronic Arts officially completed its acquisition of Codemasters, the developer of the Colin McRae Rally, Dirt and F1 racing series. The British company is now wholly owned by Codex Games Limited, a subsidiary of EA.

The acquisition, which values Codemasters at approximately $1.2 billion, marks “an exciting new era in racing game entertainment,” EA said. Earlier in the day, trading in Codemasters shares on AIM was suspended. In addition, Codemasters’ board of directors has resigned.

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“Racing fandom continues to grow worldwide, and the franchises in our combined portfolio will enable us to create innovative new experiences and bring more players into the excitement of cars and motorsport. Our teams will be a global powerhouse in racing entertainment, with amazing games for players on every platform, and we can’t wait to get started,” EA said.

Meanwhile, Codemasters CEO Frank Sagnier added, “Today is a landmark in Codemasters’ history, and an exciting day for our employees and players. The partnership with EA will enable our teams to take our highly acclaimed franchises to new heights and reach a huge global audience through their player network. Together we can redefine the landscape of racing games to create even more compelling experiences for racing fans around the world.”

Codemasters, which recently secured the rights to the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), acquired Slightly Mad, the developer of the Project Cars series and Fast & Furious Crossroads in 2019. Prior to EA’s offer, the company received a bid from Rockstar Games owner Take-Two Interactive. The bid was withdrawn after EA offered $1.2 million.

Earlier this month, EA, the publisher of the Need for Speed and Burnout franchises, stated that the acquisition of Codemasters would create “a global leader in racing entertainment” and “enable EA to release new racing experiences annually.”

The acquisition will also allow Codemasters to tap into EA’s network of more than 430 million players and multi-platform subscription services. EA also brings deep data and analytics capabilities to the table, which will provide Codemasters with audience insights that can maximize the performance of its current franchises.

Source: VGC

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