Two months after the completion of the acquisition of Game Czech, Genesis Capital announces a major expansion of the Company’s operations. At the end of October, Game Czech bought the established Slovak brand Brloh. Under that name, it will operate a network of Slovak shops.
Expansion will help the Czech market leader in PC games and game consoles become the major player also in SlovakiaThe development was made possible through the investment of the new majority owner, Genesis CapitalAs of December, the name Game will end in the Czech Republic and the Company will revert to the name JRC
With the acquisition of eleven Slovak shops, a promising market opens up for Game Czech, with hundreds of thousands of potential customers. In the Slovak market, Game Czech plans to apply the same standards that it adheres to in the Czech Republic. It anticipates that the connection of the shops to the parent company in the Czech Republic will reduce costs and yield higher revenues.
The gaming industry, including the sales of PC games and gaming consoles, has significant growth potential in Central Europe. For that reason, the parties involved in this transaction believe that they will manage to increase their revenues and profit in the coming years. Game Czech plans to increase its consolidated revenue to more than CZK 500 mil. within five years. This year, the Company generated revenues of CZK 317 mil. in the Czech Republic. “The product range that has been associated with the Brloh trademark for years will remain unchanged for the time being. Gradually, we will add also the Digital Download. In addition, the loyalty system should be improved,” said Lukáš Karel, CEO of Game Czech.
“The acquisition of the Brloh brand has figured prominently in the long-term strategy of our Company. Game Group, the former owner of Game Czech, was also interested in the expansion to Slovakia. Therefore, Brloh has been on our radar since the beginning of our cooperation with Genesis Capital, which makes me all the happier that the transaction was successfully concluded,” adds Lukáš Karel.
In addition to the acquisition of the Slovak brand Brloh, Game Czech has recently undergone a change in its ownership structure. Genesis Capital, which obtained a one-hundred-percent interest in the Company this August for its GPEF II fund, sold a minority share interest to Slavomír Pavlíček. He is the original owner of Game Czech (at that time known as JRC) and today acts as a Member of the Supervisory Board. In addition, two other members of the management obtained shareholding interests in Game Czech: Lukáš Karel, the present Chairman of the Management Board, and Kateřina Skalická who is responsible for the Company’s expansion. “By selling shares to the above-named persons, we expressed our unambiguous confidence in the present management of the Company,” adds Jan Tauber, of Genesis Capital.
Game Czech is also preparing for a change of its name. As of December 2012, the brand Game will end in the Czech Republic. The former subsidiary of the UK Game Group will revert to its original name, under which it operated before it became a member of this international group, and will again be called JRC. Surveys have shown that the public awareness of the JRC brand is still greater than the Game brand enjoys.
About Game Czech a. s.
Game Czech a. s. currently operates 30 outlets (4 of them franchised) located primarily in attractive shopping centre locations throughout the Czech Republic. Last year, the company reported sales of 317 million crowns (EUR 12.7 mil.). It is the Czech market leader, with an estimated 25 percent share of the Czech specialised gaming software and hardware retail network market. The Company employs 81 people in its stores and 21 at its headquarters, for a total of 102 employees.
About Genesis Capital
Genesis Capital offers small and midsize companies in the Czech Republic and Slovakia financing for their growth and development. Through the private equity funds it manages, it has already supported more than twenty businesses, many of which have become cutting edge in their chosen field, thanks to their cooperation with Genesis Capital. In total, Genesis Capital has provided more than two billion Czech crowns of growth capital for companies in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Since its inception in 1999, Genesis Capital has managed three private equity funds with a total volume of almost €100 million. The first two funds have already fully committed their capital to Czech and Slovak companies. At present, the youngest fund, the Genesis Private Equity Fund II, with a volume of €40 million, is open and available to finance prospective investments.
Selected companies into which Genesis Capital has invested: Profimedia, Vydis Group, Servodata, pietro filipi, Gumotex, AB Facility, Energetické strojírny Brno.