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The toy and game company Goliath Games, headquartered in Hattem, Netherlands, has signed "an exclusive worldwide license and distribution agreement for Funko's portfolio of games marketed under the Funko Games brand". What's more, in the deal announced on January 17, 2024, "Goliath also acquired the assets of Funko's board game development studio, formerly known as Forrest-Pruzan Creative, and celebrated board game design team, Prospero Hall." Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
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Here's the remainder of the press release that announced this deal:Quote:Under the multi-year agreement, Goliath will be the exclusive worldwide distributor of Funko's current catalog of games and puzzles and has agreed to collaborate with Funko to develop and distribute new games and puzzles. The agreement includes an initial payment from Goliath, followed by future minimum guaranteed royalty payments for the use of the Funko brand. Additionally, Goliath will acquire Funko's current inventory of board games and puzzles, as well as rights to intellectual property related to the studio.
"Funko Games is a highly regarded brand that includes hundreds of board games recently created as well as a great portfolio from Forrest-Pruzan. We look forward to bringing the Funko brand and style to the game aisle in new and innovative ways," said Goliath's Chief Executive Officer, Jochanan Golad. "With Pressman's 101 years and Goliath's 43 years of selling games, we believe we're a perfect fit to partner with Funko to develop and distribute games on a global level. We plan to commence marketing several key games around the world immediately. We're especially thrilled about our plan to bring to market a new and exciting game called Bitty Pop! Chase, which includes Funko's popular Bitty Pop! miniature collectible characters."
Funko Interim Chief Executive Officer, Mike Lunsford, said, "The transaction is designed to keep with our previously stated goal of streamlining our business by focusing on our core assets. We intend to use the proceeds from this transaction to reduce our debt. We believe that Goliath's size and scale, as well as their intimate knowledge of the global games and toys market, make them a strong partner for Funko in the board game category."
Goliath plans to showcase many of the Funko board games at the upcoming 2024 toy fairs in London and Nuremberg.In its third quarter financial results, posted on November 2, 2023, Funko had reported net sales for the preceding nine months of US$805 million, down from US$990 million for the same period in 2022, for a net loss of US$153 million. Funko's total debt as of September 30, 2023 was US$299.5 million compared to US$245.8 million on December 31, 2022. From the company report: "Total debt includes the amount outstanding under the company's term loan facility, net of unamortized discounts, revolving line of credit, and the company's equipment finance loan."/pic4849683.png)
Funko Games was not singled out in those third quarter financial results, which breaks down its sales for the three month period ending on September 30, 2023 as:
• Core Collectible Brands - $233,269,000
• Loungefly Brand - $57,439,000
• Other Brands - $22,236,000
Update, January 18, 2024: A former Funko Games employee has told me, "[A]t this time, nobody from the Prospero Hall game development team has been offered a position with Goliath. The reports of our studio members being absorbed by them are quite exaggerated."
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