Fragbite Group AB’s (publ) (“Fragbite Group”) subsidiary Fragbite AB has kicked off the 2023 edition of the Swedish Cup in Counter-Strike, now joined on a 2-year sponsorship by mobile operator Tele2. Last year’s finalists, Ninjas in Pyjamas and Eyeballers, will be joining the playoffs ahead of the final held in SPACE Arena on December 3.
Fragbite Group finalises the acquisition of Fall Damage
Fragbite Group AB (publ) (”Fragbite Group” or “the Company”) has finalised the acquisition of Fall Damage Studio AB (”Fall Damage”) which was announced on October 11 2023 (”The Acquisition”).
Chairman of the Board purchases 454,090 Fragbite Group shares
Fragbite Group AB:s (publ) (”Fragbite Group”) Chairman of the Board Stefan Tengvall has purchased 454,090 shares in Fragbite Group after the recent acquisition of Fall Damage. The Chairman wishes to take the opportunity to welcome new shareholders.
Invitation to press conference regarding the acquisition of Fall Damage
Fragbite Group AB (publ) (“Fragbite Group”) will hold a press conference on October 12 at 10.00 CEST regarding the acquisition of game development studio Fall Damage. The press conference will be held via live webcast and followed by a Q&A session.
Fragbite Group AB (publ) has successfully completed a directed issue of units of approximately SEK 22 million
The board of directors of Fragbite Group (publ) (“Fragbite Group” or the “Company”) has today, based on the authorization granted by the annual general meeting held on 12 May 2023, resolved on a directed issue of 11,282,043 Units, corresponding to 11,282,043 shares and 11,282,043 warrants of series TO 1, initially providing the Company with approximately SEK 22.0 million before issue costs (the “Directed Issue”). The subscription price amounted to SEK 1.95 per Unit and was determined based on an accelerated book-building procedure carried out by Vator Securities AB (acting as Sole Bookrunner). The subscribers in the Directed Issue consist of certain existing shareholders, including Mikael A Pettersson, The Barbarian Group AB and Santhe Dahl Invest AB, as well as Swedish and international institutional investors, Family Offices and qualified private investors. The proceeds will primarily finance the acquisition of Fall Damage (the “Acquisition”) and the continued operation of Fall Damage and the development of its tactical FPS game ALARA Prime until launch. In connection with the Directed Issue, Fragbite Group has also entered into loan agreements amounting to a total of SEK 20 million with Buntel AB and Munkekullen 5 Förvaltning AB on market terms.
Fragbite Group AB (publ) acquires Fall Damage Studio AB and evaluates the conditions to carry out a directed issue of units
Fragbite Group AB (publ) (“Fragbite Group” or the “Company”) has today entered into an agreement with Fall Damage Holding AB to acquire 100 percent of the shares, on a fully diluted basis, in Fall Damage Studio AB (“Fall Damage” or the “Target Company”) (the “Acquisition”). The initial purchase price amounts to SEK 20 million, which shall be paid with SEK 10 million in cash and with SEK 10 million through 4,291,845 newly issued shares in Fragbite Group, which are issued at a price of SEK 2.33 per share. In light of the Acquisition, the Board of Directors of the Company has decided to investigate the conditions for carrying out a directed issue of shares and warrants (“Units”) of approximately SEK 20 million through an accelerated book-building procedure (the “Directed Issue”). Fragbite Group has engaged Vator Securities as Sole Bookrunner in connection with the Directed Issue. The purpose of the Directed Issue is mainly to finance the acquisition of Fall Damage and the continued operation of Fall Damage and the development of its tactical FPS game ALARA Prime until launch. In connection to the Directed Issue, Fragbite Group also intends to explore the conditions of raising a loan of approximately SEK 20 million.
Success title Dead Cells releasing on Netflix
Fragbite Group AB’s (publ) (“Fragbite Group” or “The Company”) wholly-owned subsidiary Playdigious SAS (“Playdigious”) has entered into an additional distribution agreement regarding the game Dead Cells, which from October 31 will be made available via Netflix’s global platform for mobile games. Since its launch in 2019, Playdigious’ mobile version of Dead Cells has sold over 5 million units.
Fragbite Group pays the final earnout for the acquisition of Playdigious
Fragbite Group AB (publ) (“Fragbite Group”) acquired all shares in Playdigious SAS (“Playdigious”) in May 2021. As previously communicated, the acquisition agreement entitles the sellers of Playdigious a maximum earnout of EUR 3.5 million provided that certain earning targets during the fiscal years of 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23 are met. The conditions for the third and final earnout have now been met, and Fragbite Group has today made the decision to pay the maximum earnout amount for the period of EUR 1 million to the sellers of Playdigious, out of which EUR 0.5 million is paid in cash and the equivalent of EUR 0.5 million is paid with newly issued shares in Fragbite Group.
Popular title Shapez announced for release on mobile
Playdigious SAS (“Playdigious”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fragbite Group AB (publ) (“Fragbite Group”), has announced the upcoming release of mobile game Shapez in December 2023. With an already strong player base on PC and top ranking on global platform Steam, Shapez is part of the expanded Playdigious pipeline of releases for the coming period.
Interim Report January-June 2023
CEO Marcus Teilman: “During the second quarter, Fragbite Group has advanced its positions in several significant areas and investments have begun to bear fruit. I look forward to an autumn characterized by more activities which will strengthen the business and market position of the Group.”
Second quarter 2023
- Revenue amounted to SEK 60.4 (54.2) million.
- EBITDA amounted to SEK 6.5 (-1.4) million.
- Adjusted EBITDA (before items affecting comparability) was SEK 6.5 (-0.6) million.
- Operational EBIT [1] amounted to SEK 4.7 (-4.1) million.
- Net result after tax was SEK -26.6 (-30.8) million.
- Earnings per share after dilution amounted to SEK -0.28 (-0.34).
First six months 2023
- Revenue amounted to SEK 115.6 (108.9) million.
- EBITDA amounted to SEK 8.4 (1.0) million.
- Adjusted EBITDA (before items affecting comparability) was SEK 8.4 (1.9) million.
- Operational EBIT [1] amounted to SEK 4.8 (-2.4) million.
- Net result after tax was SEK -51.9 (-52.5) million.
- Earnings per share after dilution amounted to SEK -0.55 (-0.57).
Significant events during the quarter
- Fragbite Group engages a market maker ahead of the sale of $KOBAN tokens, which will be used as the premium currency for Panzerdogs, Cosmocadia and future web3 titles.
- Fragbite Group is taking over publishing of MMA Manager 2: Ultimate Fight.
- MAX Burgers, Expressen/Bonnier and SPACE renew their confidence as partners ahead of the Swedish CS:GO Cup this autumn.
- Subsidiary Fragbite AB launches Config, a gaming and esports agency.
- Fragbite AB’s gaming and esports agency Config is nominated for “Campaign of the Year” by StockholmMediaAward.
- Lucky Kat and Wagmi release the web3 game Cosmocadia on the Sui blockchain, and sell NFTs for SEK 2.3 million in conjunction with the launch.
- Playdigious releases the game Legend of Keepers for mobile platforms.
- Lucky Kat cancels the publishing contract for hypercasual game Magic Finger and signs a new agreement for the sale of that title as well as another title to a third party.
- Playdigious launches a new business for publishing independent games under the label Playdigious Originals, and presents the first game title for release on PC: Fretless – The Wrath of Riffson.
- Abrial Da Costa is appointed CEO of Playdigious and joins Fragbite Group’s management team. Playdigious’ former CEO and founder Xavier Liard and founder Romain Tisserand are staying in the Group, assuming new roles.
- The Board of Directors of Fragbite Group decides on changing the accounting policies to IFRS.
Significant events after the end of the period
- Playdigious signs an agreement to port and publish eight game titles to mobile platforms and increases the release rate.
- Anders Rössel is appointed as new CFO and Head of M&A and takes up his appointment in August 2023.
- In-house marketing of MMA Manager 2 has been initiated.
CEO’s comments
The second quarter of the year was another stable quarter, with net revenue of SEK 60.4 million, compared with SEK 54.2 million for the same period in the previous year. EBITDA amounted to SEK 6.5 (-1.4) million, partly due to the sale of two game titles in Lucky Kat’s hypercasual portfolio and positive currency effects. Operational EBIT increased to SEK 4.7 (-4.1) million. We are now entering the second half of the year, during which we will reap the benefits of the hard work that has been put in so far this year.
Playdigious scaling up significantly
During the second quarter, Playdigious launched a new publishing label, Playdigious Originals, thereby expanding the business to include publishing games for PC and console. The first game, Fretless – The Wrath of Riffson, is scheduled to be released during the first quarter 2024. Playdigious Originals gives us further opportunities to expand into a larger market and we are engaged in several ongoing dialogues regarding additional game titles under this new label.
The expansion of Playdigious’ capacity and the intensive negotiations during the period have yielded results and we were recently able to present Playdigious’ extended pipeline. Agreements regarding porting and publishing to mobile platforms have been signed for eight additional game titles that are scheduled for release between Q4 2023 and Q2 2025. This means that Playdigious is expected to significantly increase its game release rate in 2024 and beyond. Given their impressive historical performance, this feels like an investment with good potential and limited risk.
We have appointed Abrial Da Costa as the new CEO of Playdigious. Having worked more than 30 years in the industry, he is highly experienced and has a large network of contacts. He is therefore another key component of our continued investment in Playdigious. Abrial’s experience and reputation will strengthen both Playdigious and Fragbite Group, while co-founders Xavier Liard and Romain Tisserand will continue to contribute operationally and strategically to Fragbite Group’s future development.
More milestones in web3
In May, Lucky Kat passed a significant milestone when they carried out a successful soft-launch of web3 game Cosmocadia, which has been well received by players so far. Ahead of the launch on the new Sui blockchain, an NFT avatar sale was carried out, raising approximately SEK 2.3 million. Although the total sales were below the level we had hoped for, they were an important acknowledgement of the game’s quality, as Lucky Kat managed to create interest in both the game and the NFTs, despite the current market situation. Cosmocadia is now undergoing game testing in which NFT owners are given the opportunity to provide important feedback for further development of the game, which is planned for full release in 2024.
Our first web3 game, Panzerdogs, was migrated to Sui at the end of the quarter, as this new blockchain’s technical conditions offer significantly greater opportunities for us as game developers to improve both the gaming experience and the game’s economy. Our close cooperation with, and support from, Mysten Labs has continued, and this has also played a key part in both our web3 games now being on Sui. Panzerdogs has recently entered a highly important phase, which involves promoting the game to a wider audience in order to increase activity in the game, thereby laying the groundwork for the upcoming launch and sale of our $KOBAN token. $KOBAN is a so called portfolio token that will be used in all current and future web3 games that Fragbite Group develops. The goal is to launch $KOBAN, and in conjunction also carry out further token sales, during the third quarter, but with the proviso that we also need to follow the market and work closely with our advisors.
MMA Manager 2 marketed in-house
Funrock & Prey Studios has resumed responsibility for publishing MMA Manager 2, and with the help of Lucky Kat’s data-driven marketing team, in-house marketing of the game has now been initiated. To begin with, this is carried out in select markets and channels to optimise ROI. The game has been refined, which has resulted in improved game KPIs. Reduced fees for the Apple App Store and Google Playstore gaming platforms result in improved margins. This project demonstrates clearly how we utilise internal resources and how experience is shared between the subsidiaries.
Fragbite AB entering an intensive period
Subsidiary Fragbite AB can look forward to an intensive period, with the Swedish Cup as the major highlight. So far, 2023 has been characterised by several newly established client partnerships under the new Config brand.
Intensive autumn awaits
Here at Fragbite Group, we are very pleased that our hard work on preparations ahead of autumn seem to be paying off. We remain active and prepared to make acquisitions that add evident value to the Group. The organisation is well adapted to give future acquisitions a good start. We are facing an intensive autumn with a host of activities that will strengthen the Group’s business and market position. I am therefore confident that Fragbite Group has a bright future.
Marcus Teilman, President & CEO
The report is attached to this press release and available for download from the Fragbite Group website: www.fragbitegroup.com/financial-reports
