Jagex, a renowned games developer and publisher, has been acquired for £900 million by CVC Capital Partners and Haveli Investments, with global investor Carlyle Group. Jagex is famous for its highly successful RuneScape titles, which include a community of 2.4 million active subscribers and over 300 million lifetime accounts, and are known for their leadership in developing live service gaming over the course of 20+ years. The company, based in Cambridge with about 700 employees, is one of the largest and most prosperous British video game studios.
Only months after Macarthur Fortune acquired Jagex for approximately £428 million, Carlyle oversaw acquisitions of other companies such as Gamepires, a developer of open-world survival game SCUM, and Pipeworks Studios. “Jagex has transformed significantly in recent years thanks to the hard work of our entire team as well as the insight and expertise we have leveraged through our partnership with Carlyle,” said CEO Phil Mansell, who will remain in the role.
“We are delighted to bring CVC and Haveli in as our new strategic partners for the next stage of Jagex’s journey,” said Mansell. “The video gaming sector has huge potential, and with CVC and Haveli’s support, I am confident that we can continue to enhance our platform for the good of both our existing valued gamers and potential new gamers yet to experience our products.”
Nick Clarry, managing partner and head of CVC’s sports, media, and entertainment team, commented, “Our ambition is to bring relevant experience from our sports, media & entertainment assets to help realise the full potential of Jagex over the years ahead. This will involve continuing to improve the existing RuneScape games, the accessibility to games on various platforms, and reinvesting into new IP content to create the exciting games of tomorrow.”
