Under New Canadian Management, the mobile radio studio Ludia Plans to add 50 new jobs this year and possibly do some acquisitions.
This told me Jimmy Gendron, the new CEO of Ludia, in an interview when local Canadian investors and members of the Senior Management team bought the company back last week. It is a rare case to relax an acquisition and add more jobs in the Shocked Game industry.
Los Angeles based Jam City bought Ludia In 2021 for 165 million US dollars to combine two mobile phone play companies under the same roof. But the game industry has undergone upheavals since then and Ludia was separated from Jam City, which focuses on leisure games. Ludia focuses on Midcore games. This finally led to a decision to separate the companies. The new purchase price was not announced.
“This return to independence marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Ludia. I am thrilled with our future, driven by the talent of our team and the support of first -class financial partners. We now have the opportunity to bring an ambitious vision to life and deliver games that captivate millions of players worldwide, ”said Gendron.
In addition, Alexandre Thabet, the former CEO, who founded Ludia in 2007, comes back to the company as a shareholder and will act as CEO.
“With great emotions and immense pride, I am part of this announcement today. Thanks to the local financial support and one of the most experienced management team in the Canadian mobile Gaming industry, Ludia is ready to move to his ambitions for the future, ”said Thabet in a statement.
Gendron took over as General Manager of Ludia after Thabet had gone after Jam City’s deal.
“Around the middle of last year, when we spoke to some Canadian investors, we thought it would be interesting to approach Jam City and bring an offer to the table that was a victory for both sides,” said Gendron. “It really started. This made sense for both sides. “
This transaction is supported by great investors, including Fonds de Solidarité FTQ, Investissement Québec, BDC Capital Growth Equity Partners, Export Development Canada (EDC) and Groupe W with additional support from National Bank. Dominic Bécotte, the former CFO of Ludia, also played a key role in the transaction as a consultant.
A future as an independent mobile phone game studio
With his return to Canadian possession, Ludia has become the largest independent mobile phone game
Studio in the country that further strengthens the position of Montréal and Quebec
Video game hubs. The headquarters of the company in the heart of the old Montreal, which is currently located
employ over 130 people. Gendron hopes to stop another 50 next year.
With the support of its financial partners, the company also intends to examine new acquisition options for expansion.
“Investissement Québec is proud to bring Ludia’s property back to Québec,” said Claude Farrier, EVP of private equity at Investissement Québec. “As a key player in the video game industry, Ludia now has flexibility to grow and expand internationally and at the same time firmly rooted on site. By investing $ 18 million in the company, he fulfills his mission to support Québec Excellence in the key sectors of our economy and to promote the creation of world-class champions at home. “
And Saloua Benkhouya, Vice President of Private Equity and Impact Investments, Entertainment and Services, Fonds de Solidarité FTQ, said in a statement: “Thanks to the leadership of Jimmy Gendron and Alexandre Thabet, Ludia returns to his Québec roots. We are proud to work with you to support the further growth of a market for mobile gaming sectors founded here in 2007. The investment of the fund reflects our commitment to supporting local entrepreneurs and growing Québec companies. Having a committed and experienced management team is a big capital – not only for Ludia, but also for the future of the Québec entertainment industry. “
Origins
Ludia was founded in 2007 and is the largest independent mobile game studio in Canada. The studio has established itself as an important player in the industry by developing over 50 games based on popular franchise companies and original licenses, including Jurassic World Alive, Jurassic World: The Game, Dragons: Rise of Berk, (not operational: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Legends, Family Feud).
Since its foundation, the studio has achieved over 1.3 billion CAD with more than 500 million downloads and attracts over 3.5 million players each month.
Jurassic World Alive, Jurassic World: The Game and How to Train Your Dragon: Rise of Berk are now among the company’s biggest company games. Some have been around for a decade and work well. Teenage mutant ninja turtles and family feud are smaller, but still operated on.
Back to growth
I asked Gendron why the deal took place.
“It was in context to become independent. Alex is the founder of Ludia and I thought it made a lot of sense to have him as part of this plan to acquire Ludia, ”said Gendron. “Alex accepted this project and joined and became an investor. This gives us a great starting point to start all over. “
Some of the jobs will take place in corporate functions such as finance, marketing, personnel and information technology, but others will be in other game functions. That should be a big boost for the morals of the employees.
“We announced our employees internally on Friday and the entire team is very excited about the future,” said Gendron. “As you said, the industry is just a challenge, and that we carry out this transaction and announce the creation of jobs and are exciting for the staff.”
Gendron noticed that mobile games with a focus on the privacy of users through targeted ads became difficult. Now the market is returning to a new growth level, said Gendron. There are innovations with the user acquisition, some of AI, said Gendron.
Montreal remains one of the world’s biggest gaming hubs, with 15,000 game jobs. But it was not immune to the general discomfort in games that cost around 34,000 lost jobs in 2024. Canada had about 821 Game Companies 2023 and 2024 or 78 less than the climax in 2020 and 2021. During this time there were 1,250 only a few jobs.
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