DLA Piper advises Gaming Group Aonic on the issue of a Nordic Bond and the acquisition of VR game developer nDreams

DLA Piper has advised the global Gaming Group Aonic on the issue of its first senior secured Nordic Bond for an aggregate amount of EUR70 million. The bonds will be listed both on the regulated market of Nasdaq Stockholm and the open market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The proceeds of the bond issue will be used by Aonic for the full acquisition of the leading UK-based virtual reality games publisher and developer nDreams for a total enterprise value close to USD110 million. The transaction was simultaneously advised by DLA Piper.

Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Aonic is a group of global gaming companies with diverse specialisms. The group, which includes the likes of Warren Spector’s OtherSide Entertainment, Milky Tea, Exmox and TutoTOONS, invested an initial USD35 million in nDreams in March 2022 and received a minority stake. Aonic is growing rapidly and has built a decentralised and collaborative structure in which its family of mid-sized studios can develop.

nDreams is a leading global VR game developer and publisher with a team of 250 people. The core focus of the company will remain unchanged after the acquisition, while benefiting from a stable and supportive environment to continue growing. The investment will also facilitate nDreams’ future investments in third-party publishing and, potentially, more studio acquisitions.

The international DLA Piper team was led by partners Andreas Füchsel (Private Equity/M&A), Dr Roland Maaß (Capital Markets; both Frankfurt) and John Gallon (Private Equity/M&A, Leeds). In addition, counsel Patrick Reuter (Finance), senior associates Juliane Poss, Theresa Schenk (both Capital Markets), Philipp Meyer and associate Damian Merks (both Private Equity/M&A; all Frankfurt) were involved.

From the DLA Piper office in Leeds, senior associate Ben Collins and associate Alex Aveyard (both Corporate) provided support. Also involved were partners Carl Schwieler (Finance), Peder Grandinson and associates Therese Pekkanen (both Corporate) and Hugo Ahlner (Finance; all Stockholm).