REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., Jan 19, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) –
Trion Worlds, the leading publisher and developer of premium games for
the connected era, has completed an $85 million round of strategic
growth equity financing, led by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
(Teachers’), one of the world’s leading pension funds focused on direct
investments in both public and private equities. Also participating was
current Trion investor Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI), a
wholly owned subsidiary of Bertelsmann AG, a leading international media
company. Trion will utilize the financing to further grow its worldwide
premium online games business.
“We are thrilled about entering this exciting period of growth and scale
with our investors,” Lars Buttler, Founder and CEO, Trion Worlds, said.
“Backing from a stalwart long-term investor such as Teachers’, which has
the experience and structure to support our vision, and the expanded
relationship with our current stakeholder and great supporter, BDMI, is
a massive endorsement for Trion.”
Rift(TM), the company’s award-winning first title, launched
last March. Showcasing Trion’s dynamic online platform, Rift
established the company’s long-term vision to revolutionize games.
Players activated more than one million Rift accounts in less
than four months, and its North American and European revenues surpassed
$100 million in 2011. Rift has set a new industry standard for
massively multiplayer online role-playing games, proving that gamers are
embracing original, high-quality IPs and rich, dynamic game experiences
built for the new online generation.
“Rift’s success with gamers worldwide is the tip of the iceberg
for Trion,” Buttler said. “No other company has successfully attempted
to create an original IP, build paradigm-altering technology, and
develop a business of scale to lead the industry, let alone excel at all
three. We have a world class team focused on our vision to bring the era
of connected live services to premium games, much in the way casual and
mid-core games have already been disrupted.”
Trion’s next two titles will showcase the company’s operational agility
and the strength of its technology platform. End of Nations(TM), the
company’s highly anticipated massively multiplayer real-time strategy
game being developed with Petroglyph Games, is scheduled to start
rolling out in early 2012. Defiance(TM) is a collaborative project
with Syfy to simultaneously produce a TV show and an online action game
in the same universe, with merging storylines and the ability to
mutually impact events and consequences across the mediums.
Trion also recently announced plans to launch an initiative, code-named
Red Door, which comprises both a consumer platform and a full-scale
publishing and development platform based on the technology fueling its
own games. The Red Door platform is built to host the future of premium
games with end-to-end capabilities and customized services for discrete
partners.
With its upcoming titles and Red Door, Trion will be expanding its
genre, device, and publishing offerings, as well as scaling the reach
and power of its platform.
About Trion Worlds
Trion Worlds is the leading publisher and developer of premium games for
the connected era. Powered by a breakthrough development and publishing
platform, Trion is revolutionizing the way games are developed, played
and sold. Trion’s world-class team delivers high-quality, dynamic, and
massively social games operated as live services across the biggest game
genres and devices, including the critically acclaimed blockbuster, Rift(TM)
and the highly-anticipated End of Nations(TM) and Defiance(TM).
Trion is headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., with offices in San
Diego, Calif., Austin, Texas, and at Trion Worlds Europe in London, UK.
About Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
With $107.5 billion in assets as of December 31, 2010, the Ontario
Teachers’ Pension Plan is the largest single-profession pension plan in
Canada. Its direct investment program is one of the most comprehensive
and successful in the world. An independent organization, it invests the
pension fund’s assets and administers the pensions of 295,000 active and
retired teachers in Ontario. For more information visit
www.otpp.com .
About Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI)
Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI) is a strategic venture
investor focused on innovative digital media technologies, products and
distribution channels across the globe. BDMI is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Bertelsmann AG, a leading international media company with
over $22 billion in revenues and over 100,000 employees in 50 countries.
For more information, visit:
www.bdmifund.com .
Bertelsmann is an international media company whose core
divisions encompass television (RTL Group), book publishing (Random
House), magazine publishing (Gruner + Jahr), and outsourcing services
(Arvato) in 50 countries. In 2010, the company’s businesses, with their
100,000 employees, generated revenues of EUR15.8 billion (U.S. $22
billion). Bertelsmann stands for a distinctive combination of creativity
and entrepreneurship that empowers the creation of first-rate media,
communications, and service offerings to inspire people around the world
and to provide innovative solutions for customers. For more information,
visit:
www.bertelsmann.com .
SOURCE: Trion Worlds
Trion Worlds
Katie Uhlman, 650-394-1240
Katie@trionworlds.com
or
47 Communications
Sibel Sunar, 323-658-1200
sibel@fortyseven.com
Copyright Business Wire 2012
Article source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trion-worlds-closes-85-million-strategic-growth-financing-2012-01-19
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