The most encouraging news from the acquisition is that OpCapita claims there will be no store closures. In fact, Baker Acquisitions Limited, the private investment company advised by OpCapita, states that the chain will be looking to re-employ a ”small number” of staff from GAME’s head office.
Financial terms have not been disclosed, but reports from the media state that GAME Group was purchased for £1, which carries with it the £85 million debt owed to GAME’s lenders, including the Royal Bank of Scotland, who’d been rumored to be the company’s acquirer.
In a public statement, OpCapita managing partner Henry Jackson announced, ”We are pleased to have reached agreement with the Administrator. We strongly believe there is a place on the high street for a video gaming specialist and GAME is the leading brand in a £2.8 billion market in the UK.
“We have assembled a strong team of experienced industry operators to implement the programme of operational change that is needed. There is a huge amount to do but we look forward to the challenge of restoring GAME’s fortunes in partnership with its employees and suppliers.”
”This means that the GAME brand will not be another one of the retail names disappearing from the high street in the current difficult climate,” added Mike Jervis of administrative partner PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Other companies who were interested in acquiring GAME Group were Walmart and GameStop.
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