ACTIVISION ACQUIRES SOFTWARE DEVELOPER SHABA GAMES
Acquisition Enhances Company’s Ability To Create Games For Next Generation Consoles
Under the terms of the agreement, Shaba has become a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision. Shaba’s equity holders received 258,621 shares common stock in connection with the acquisition. Up to 68,965 additional shares of Activision common stock also may be issued to Shaba’s equity holders over the course of several years, depending on the satisfaction of certain performance requirements and other criteria.
As part of the transaction, Shaba’s management team and key employees have signed long-term employment contracts with Activision. Activision does not expect this transaction to affect its previously announced revenue and earnings per share guidance for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2002 or for fiscal year 2003.
Activision’s Executive Vice President of Worldwide Studios, Larry Goldberg, said, “We are extremely pleased with the working relationship that has emerged over the past two years with Shaba. The company’s gifted and dedicated team will be a great addition to our internal studios. Shaba’s multi-platform development capabilities and expertise in action sports games makes it a tremendous asset and augments our commitment to acquire proven technical and design talent with a history of high-quality product creation.”
Members of Shaba’s team have worked on such critically acclaimed games as Pandemonium, Grind Session and Soul Reaver: Legacy of Kain. Additionally, Shaba has worked with Activision on such games as Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX™ for the PlayStation® game console and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater™ 3 for the PlayStation game console. The company is currently in development on Shaun Murray’s Pro Wakeboarder™ for the PlayStation® 2 computer entertainment system, Xbox™ video game console from Microsoft and Nintendo GameCube™.
“We are very excited to join Activision,” states Chris Scholz, president of Shaba Games. “Activision brings world-class production processes and a strong marketing and distribution infrastructure that complements Shaba’s approach to game development.”
Founded in 1997, Shaba is headquartered in Sausalito, CA.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products. Founded in 1979, Activision posted revenues of $620 million for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2001.
Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, and the Netherlands. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's World Wide Web site, which is located at www.activision.com.