{"id":122452,"date":"2021-10-06T09:32:05","date_gmt":"2021-10-06T09:32:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=122452"},"modified":"2021-10-06T09:32:05","modified_gmt":"2021-10-06T09:32:05","slug":"gn-store-nord-shares-rise-on-acquisition-of-gaming-firm-steelseries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/gn-store-nord-shares-rise-on-acquisition-of-gaming-firm-steelseries\/","title":{"rendered":"GN Store Nord shares rise on acquisition of gaming firm Steelseries"},"content":{"rendered":"
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Shares in Danish hearing aid and headset maker GN Store Nord rose 3% on Wednesday after it said it would buy gaming gear company Steelseries from Nordic private equity company Axcel in a deal worth 8 billion Danish crowns ($1.25 billion).<\/p> \u201cWe have for some time searched for the right way for GN to enter the very interesting gaming market, being keenly interested in the \u2018high-end\u2019 segment,\u201d said Ren\u00e9 Svendsen-Tune, chief executive of GN Audio, the company\u2019s headset unit.<\/p>\n Steelseries, which had revenue of 2.2 billion crowns last year, employs about 350 people in offices in Denmark, France, the United States, China and Taiwan.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are primarily doing it because it\u2019s a growth case. It ensures, that GN continues to be a growth company,\u201d Chief Financial Officer Peter Gormsen told Reuters.<\/p>\n With immediate effect, GN would pause its current share buyback programme, which was launched in May, the firm said.<\/p>\n In the first half of 2021, Steelseries posted revenue of 1.3 billion, up 56% from the same period last year, and an earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) margin of 14.0%.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a company with many parallels to ours,\u201d Gormsen said. \u201cThey have an outsourced production, they sell in some of the same channels that we sell in, we just have a different volume and size, and that of course gives some economy of scale.\u201d<\/p>\n GN expects to reap operational synergies from the merger of about 150 million crowns annually by 2022. In 2021, transaction costs would be about 150 million.<\/p>\n Steelseries, which competes with companies such as Razer, Corsair and Logitech, has around 15% market share in its gaming headset business, Gormsen said. Within gaming equipment broadly, Steelseries has about 7% market share.<\/p>\n The cash deal is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close early next year.<\/p>\n GN Store Nord on Tuesday cut its 2021 revenue growth forecast for its hearing aid unit to around 16% from 25% citing postponed product launches, sending its shares down.<\/p>\n ($1 = 6.4225 Danish crowns)<\/p>\n