이 기사는 2021년 11월 04일 07시51분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

South Korean gaming firm Krafton has decided to take over US video game developer Unknown Worlds Entertainment for $500 million, more than 10 times the US firm’s net asset. Krafton has also agreed to provide an earnout payment of up to $250 million until 2026, depending on the US game developer’s future performance as it aims to capitalize on the company's strong growth potential.

Unknown Worlds is estimated to have recorded $46.3 million in revenue and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $29.6 million in the first seven months of 2021, which already exceeded the previous year’s $35.8 million and $10.7 million, according to Krafton on Tuesday.

Unknown Worlds had $48.37 million in assets as of the end of July, of which capital was $43.34 million and liabilities were $5.03 million. Its debt ratio stood at 11.6%, which is regarded as financially sound. Samdo Accounting firm, which conducted due diligence on Unknown Worlds, estimated the US firm’s revenue to increase to $75.7 million in 2022 and $129 million in 2025, up 3.6 times compared to that of 2020.

California-headquartered Unknown Worlds is known for unique creativity-based PC and console games such as Half-Life Mod, Natural Selection series, and Subnautica. It launched Subnautica: Below Zero in May.

Given the company’s rosy prospects and financial soundness, Krafton has set the acquisition price at $500 million, more than 10 times the Unknown Worlds’ net assets and 10-15 times its estimated EBITDA for this year.

In addition, Krafton will pay an earnout of up to $250 million if two new titles, which are being prepared by Unknown Worlds, meet certain milestones by 2025. Unknown Worlds is scheduled to release a new game 'Project 1' next year, and is aiming for its global release in May 2023. Its 'Project 2' is currently under development to be launched in 2024.

Krafton will pay the lesser of an adjusted post-deal revenue multiplied by a certain multiple or $250 million.

“While mobile games are the mainstream of the Korean game market, console games that require dedicated game devices like PlayStation are the mainstream in North America,” a gaming industry source said. “Krafton has made a big bet on Unknown Worlds as it aims to enter the US market through console games.” (Reporting by Choong-hee Won)