6th March 2009

FremantleMedia Invests in Ludia

LudiaMontrealFremantleMedia, one of the largest creators and producers of global entertainment brands, has announced a strategic minority equity investment in Ludia, a leading developer and publisher of interactive casual games based in Montreal, Canada. The deal is part of FremantleMedia’s ongoing expansion into the high-growth video games market. It also follows a range of new growth initiatives by theFremantleMedia company’s new business unit, FremantleMedia Ventures, and represents the division’s first equity investment.

“Ludia has rapidly carved out a unique position in the competitive video games market by combining a strong focus on quality, exceptional technology and a multiplatform strategy. The company’s leadership team is outstanding and has a strong track record in the industry,” said Christian Schneider-Sickert, FremantleMedia’s Director of Operations and Strategy, who will be joining Ludia’s board.

FremantleMedia’s cash and rights investment will enable Ludia to further expand its portfolio of branded, IP-led casual games and to broaden its international business outside of North America. FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) already licenses formats such as American Idol, The Price is Right and Press Your Luck to Ludia, which has built a unique expertise in translating hit entertainment brands into top-selling games. Ludia recently debuted the The Price is Right game for PCs, gaming consoles and the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch. The game quickly became a top-selling game in its category on all formats.

“FremantleMedia has a wealth of intellectual property with qualities that will not only translate brilliantly into games, but that also are highly relevant in different markets,” said Alex Thabet, President of Ludia. “We look forward to working together to expand Ludia’s business to bring more exciting game experiences to consumers world-wide.”

Olivier Delfosse, Vice President, FremantleMedia Enterprises North America said, “FremantleMedia Enterprises already has a substantial licensing business in the broader games market. This investment will deepen our relationship with Ludia, allowing us greater insight into the exciting interactive casual games sector while expanding our role in extending our shows onto new platforms and opening Ludia’s capabilities to FremantleMedia’s global licensing teams.”

This investment in Ludia by FremantleMedia completes a second round of financing for the Company following an initial round of funding closed in early 2007 with a group of angel investors led by New York and Paris based Messier Associés Group.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 6th, 2009 at 11:11 am and is filed under Business News, National News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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