Next Games Corp.: Next Games, And Its Largest Shareholder Jari Ovaskainen, Agree On a EUR 3 Million Loan To Support Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales Game’s Growth
NEXT GAMES CORPORATION | INSIDE INFORMATION | 25 October 2021, 3:05 pm EEST
CLOSELY ASSOCIATED PERSON TRANSACTION
Next Games (the ”Company” or “Next Games”) has made an agreement on a three million Euro loan to support the Company’s growth strategy. The loan is granted by the Company’s largest shareholder and closely associated person, Jari Ovaskainen. The Company’s Board of Directors decided in its meeting on 25 October 2021 to accept the terms of the loan.
Loan Conditions
The loan can be drawn in parts or in its entirety starting from 31 October 2021. The maturity of the loan term is a maximum of eight years starting from the first drawdown and has to be paid back in its entirety by 1st of December 2029. The annual interest rate for the loan is 6%. The loan is non convertible in part or in its entirety to the Company’s shares. The loan is unsecured and according to the Company’s assessment, in accordance with market terms and conditions.
Use of the raised funds
The purpose of the loan is to support and expand Next Games’ growth strategy. The Company intends to use the entirety of the raised funds towards growing the sales of the new Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales game and its marketing investments. The loan enables the company to finance its growth strategy in a sustainable manner, faster scaling of the game as well as optimal balance structure.
Teemu Huuhtanen, CEO Next Games: “Jari Ovaskainen has been an integral part of Next Games’ story, offering decades of experience from successful growth companies. Jari’s expertise and firm support for the company’s management has played, and will continue to play an important role in the next chapter of our growth. Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales is showing encouraging engagement and early monetization performance, in line with our expectations. The loan enables controlled scaling of the game at a faster pace on our key markets.”
Jari Ovaskainen, Member of Board of Directors, Largest Shareholder, Next Games: “Next Games has proven its capability to craft authentic mobile game experiences based on the world’s biggest entertainment brands. Next Games’ strategy is solid and I am pleased to support the company’s next chapter.”
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Contacts:
Saara Bergström
Chief Communications Officer
+358 (0) 50 483 3896
Certified Adviser: Alexander Corporate Finance Oy, tel. +358 (0) 50 520 4098
About Next Games
Next Games is the first publicly listed mobile game developer and publisher in Finland, specializing in games based on entertainment franchises, such as movies, TV series or books. The developers of the critically acclaimed The Walking Dead games redefine the way franchise entertainment transforms into highly engaging service-based mobile games. Next Games works on multiple new games based on beloved global IP’s, including Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales based on Netflix’s hit 80s horror drama series and Blade Runner: Rogue based on Blade Runner.
About Jari Ovaskainen
Jari Ovaskainen founded IObox, a Finnish Internet portal, in 1999. The following year, IObox was sold to Terra Mobile (Telefonica) for 230 Million Euros - the biggest VC exit in Finland at the time. Since IObox, Ovaskainen was one of the seed investors in Supercell and sold his share of the company to Soft Bank on a three Billion Euro valuation in 2013. In the same year, Ovaskainen invested in Next Games for the first time. Ovaskainen was chosen as Business Angel of the Year in Europe in 2014. Next Games listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange in 2017. Ovaskainen participated in the initial public offering and has since invested in the company twice: in 2019 and 2020. Jari Ovaskainen is Next Games’ largest shareholder.
