STOCKHOLM - Swedish gaming group Embracer said on Monday it plans to split into three separate listed companies, and that it has secured new financing that it will use to cut debt.
Hit by development delays, weak demand, bad reception for some new games and the collapse last year of a planned strategic partnership, Embracer's share price has fallen by some 80% from its 2021 peak.
Embracer, which in February warned it may miss its debt reduction target, said the three new companies will be called Asmodee Group, Coffee Stain & Friends, and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends.
"Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends is intended to remain within the current listed company Embracer Group, which will subsequently be renamed," it said in a statement.
The owner of the Tomb Raider franchise said it plans to list Asmodee, a company it bought in 2022, within 12 months, and to list Coffee Stain & Friends in 2025.
"The intention of the board of directors of Embracer Group is to carry out both spinoffs by way of a dividend distribution of all shares," it said, adding that owners holding more than 50% of capital and votes had expressed support for the plan.
"As part of the Asmodee separation process, Embracer Group has, through Asmodee Group, entered into a new financing agreement amounting to 900 million euros ($960 million)," the company said.
The proceeds would partly be used to repay debt in the remaining Embracer Group, it added.