Media & Entertainment Acquisitions in Washington

Baker Publishing Group has acquired Lexham Press, the in-house publishing division of Logos, deepening the companies' longstanding partnership and expanding Baker's academic and Christian living catalog. Logos will retain rights to Lexham Press content within the Logos platform so it can focus on its digital Bible study business.

The ownership group of Seattle Sounders FC partnered with global investment firm Carlyle to purchase Seattle Reign FC from OL Groupe, completing the acquisition in June 2024 for reported consideration of about $58 million. The deal brings the NWSL club under local Sounders ownership with Carlyle providing investment and board representation, and positions the club for commercial and competitive growth while keeping it rooted in the Pacific Northwest.

Keywords Studios has acquired Hardsuit, a Seattle-based game development studio with over 70 employees. The acquisition strengthens Keywords' Create service line, adds AAA development and Unreal Engine expertise, and expands its U.S. presence in Seattle while Hardsuit's founders will continue to lead the studio post-transaction.

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has agreed to acquire Firewalk Studios from ProbablyMonsters Inc., bringing the Bellevue-based AAA multiplayer developer into PlayStation Studios. Firewalk — a team of nearly 150 developers working on an original live-service multiplayer title for PS5 and PC — will continue to operate under its existing management; financial terms were not disclosed.

Atari entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of Night Dive Studios Inc., a Vancouver, Washington-based game development and publishing studio, for an initial consideration of US$10 million (half cash, half Atari shares) plus an earn-out of up to US$10 million. Atari also announced plans to issue €30 million in convertible bonds to support the acquisition, refinance debt and fund growth initiatives, while Irata LLC agreed to provide bridge financing for the initial consideration.

The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE American: AREN) has acquired Fexy Studios, an award-winning creative agency that produces television, streaming and digital video programming and branded content. The acquisition expands The Arena Group’s video production and distribution capabilities and broadens food coverage within its Parade Lifestyle Media Group, with Fexy leadership joining The Arena Group team.

Montreal-based Behaviour Interactive is acquiring Seattle-based Midwinter Entertainment from Improbable. A team of about 30 from Midwinter will join Behaviour on June 2, 2022 as the studio’s talent and capabilities are folded into Behaviour’s development slate to support new original IPs.

West Realm Shires, Inc. (owner of FTX US) has acquired Olympia, Washington–based game developer Good Luck Games, maker of the card autobattler Storybook Brawl. The studio will be integrated into FTX Gaming as FTX seeks to expand gaming capabilities and explore ethical blockchain integration for digital game assets.

Betsperts Media & Technology Group has acquired Dynasty League Football (DLF), a premium subscription service focused on dynasty fantasy football content and tools. The acquisition expands Betsperts' season-long fantasy football and betting content offerings and is expected to grow the group's audience and recurring revenue.

Mood Media acquired PlayNetwork from Octave Group to expand its in-store audio, video and digital signage offerings. PlayNetwork is a global music technology and audiovisual systems provider serving over 400 brands at more than 100,000 locations worldwide; financial terms were not disclosed.

Streamland Media, a portfolio platform backed by Trive Capital and Five Crowns Capital, has acquired Seattle-based Clatter & Din, a sound and art post-production studio serving the interactive (gaming) market. The deal expands Streamland's Formosa Interactive unit, adding regional presence, creative talent and end-to-end post-production capabilities in the Pacific Northwest as an add-on to the platform.

Abry Partners has made a significant growth investment in OneCare Media, a Seattle-headquartered digital content and consumer health marketing business that owns brands such as SleepFoundation.org, Tuck.com, Testing.com, Help.org, and OnlineDoctor.com. OneCare will use the proceeds to support ongoing growth and acquisition activities; CG Petsky Prunier served as exclusive financial advisor to OneCare on the transaction.