Midlands advisors successfully complete cross-border TMT Fanatical deal

East Midlands advisers Bishopsgate Corporate Finance and Browne Jacobson have successfully advised the shareholders of West Midlands based Focus Multimedia Limited (trading as Fanatical) on the sale of the business to US based Fandom Inc, backed by private equity firm TPG for an undisclosed sum.

Fanatical are a leading gaming e-commerce business established in 2012 by Focus Multimedia Limited in Rugeley (having been founded in 1995 as a distributor of PC CD-ROM software). Their on-line store has fast become a video gaming lover’s dream, supplying digital games, ebooks, and gaming products such as video game keys (Steam and Uplay) directly to consumers’ PC’s in just a couple of clicks. To date, the site has sold over 80 million gaming keys to customers in 200+ countries around the globe and with cutting edge technology and design.

San Francisco based Fandom Inc (previously known as Wikia) was founded in 1995 and is considered the world’s largest fan platform with more than 330 million monthly users. They specialise in content around gaming, comic books, movies and TV shows.

Craig Johnson, co-founder and Managing Director of Fanatical commented:

“Everyone here at Fanatical is thrilled to become part of the Fandom family. The synergies between our two companies are undeniable and the opportunities that this acquisition presents are both incredibly exciting and vast.

“We felt fully supported by our advisory teams – their joined-up approach, hard work and dedication ensured the transaction was a smooth one. We really appreciate all they did in successfully getting the deal done and can’t praise them enough."

James McBain Allan, Partner at Bishopsgate Corporate Finance who provided lead advisory services to Fanatical said:

“This is yet another cross-border deal, advised by Bishopsgate, of a Midlands business which really demonstrates Bishopsgate’s global reach and expertise. This was a complex deal that marks an exciting stage for the Fanatical - Fandom team and we are thrilled to have been part of it.”

The Browne Jacobson team was led by corporate finance partner Paul McCannah who added:

“We are delighted to have delivered a successful outcome for the Fanatical Team on a deal that is testament to the strength and heritage of the gaming sector in the Midlands.

“This latest successful cross-border transaction has enabled us to further demonstrate the strength of our specialist corporate finance expertise with tech and gaming sector insight on a complex and time critical deal.”