The developer of Fortnite and Unreal Engine received a transfer of $1.2 billion. Seven companies led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) invested in Epic Games.
ICONIQ Capital, Smash Ventures, aXiomatic, Vulcan Capital, Kleiner Perkins and Lightspeed Venture Partners also acted as contributors.
The funds received minority stakes in the company in exchange for investments. Which ones are unknown.
Recall that Disney and Endeavor also have shares in Epic Games. 40% of the developer belongs to the Chinese giant Tencent. What share of shares remains in the hands of Epic Games management now is not reported.
Due to the closeness of the deal, it is also impossible to talk about how much the company is valued today, which earns more than $ 1.5 billion a year on Fortnite alone (this is a neat estimate, which is based on game sales data on consoles, PC and iOS, but excluding Android).
According to an official press release, the deal will allow Epic Games to establish strong ties with key investment funds and business angels “at the forefront [of the market] of technology, entertainment, professional sports, esports and real events.”
The money raised, according to Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, will strengthen the company’s position in the three-dimensional technology market, and will also allow it to more quickly influence how “people play, work and interact with the world.”
Perhaps we are talking not only about investments in the engine, but also about Epic Games’ future plans to absorb technology companies. Recall that this year the company has already acquired two startups — the authors of Easy Anti-Cheat and the Scottish Cloudgine, which deals with cloud technologies and VR.
The funds raised are also likely to be used to organize new sports events. Five months ago, Epic Games announced plans to spend $100 million only on rewards in Fortnite tournaments.
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