LONDON, UK: Mercia Asset Management PLC (AIM: MERC) introduced completion of a £20.1million third-party funding spherical into nDreams Limited, currently the Group’s largest direct funding by fair value.
The funding comes from Aonic AB, a Stockholm-based online game investor. Aonic champions high-potential game studios by supporting them with the specialist technology and infrastructure wanted to obtain their full potential, whereas enabling them to maintain their independent identity and creative freedom.
Following this funding round, Mercia now holds a 33.2% fully diluted direct funding stake in nDreams valued at £25.8million, a rise of £8.1million from its 30 September 2021 carrying value, which will have a consequential positive impact on each working revenue and net assets as at 31 March 2022.
nDreams is a number one developer and writer of digital actuality (“VR”) video games together with Phantom: Covert Ops, Fracked and Far Cry VR: Dive Into Insanity. It has a strong pipeline of future projects already in development, together with video games for the PlayStation VR2. It additionally recently expanded its development capabilities by announcing two new studios, nDreams Studio Orbital and nDreams Studio Elevation. In August 2021, nDreams appointed former Codemasters CEO, Frank Sagnier, as its Non-executive Chairman.
Julian Viggars, CIO of Mercia Asset Management and nDreams’ Board Director, said: “This is an important development for nDreams and one which will allow it to additional strengthen its place as a number one studio within the VR market. Aonic’s funding is additionally an indicator of the potential scale of VR technology and nDreams is well positioned to seize the alternatives this presents. This materials fair worth increase is one other instance of the underlying worth creation potential in our direct funding portfolio, which is now being recognised by co-investors and acquirers.”
Patrick O’Luanaigh, co-founder and CEO of nDreams, said: “This funding is a pivotal second for nDreams, and I’m delighted to now have the mixed support of Mercia and Aonic, who share the identical ambitious imaginative and prescient that we do. This funding is the rocket fuel wanted to speed up our rapid growth, as VR continues its trajectory towards becoming a truly mass-market technology.”
www.mercia.co.uk