Friday, October 12, 2007

Elevation Partners Sells Pandemic Studios To EA

Private equity firm Elevation Partners has re-sold BioWare Corp. and Pandemic Studios, the video game development firms the company purchased in 2005, to Electronic Arts. The deal is worth $860M. Pandemic Studios was originally based in Los Angeles, and the firms continue to maintain an operation here. Electronic Arts said Thursday that it is acquiring VG Holding Corp., the holding company which is the parent firm of BioWare Corp. and Pandemic Studios, and roughly 800 employees across Edmonton, Canada; Los Angeles; Austin; and Brisbane, Australia. According to EA, the deal includes $620M in cash, plus up to $155M in equity for certain employees of VG Holdings. Elevation Partners purchased Los Angeles-based Pandemic Studios in November of 2005, in a deal which combined Pandemic with Edmonton, Canada-based BioWare.