Navarre Corp. has until now been exclusively a distributor of home entertainment and multimedia software for other companies (including some Mac game publishers), but the company today announced its entry into content ownership with the acquisition of assets from Encore Software Inc.
Navarre today announced that it has acquired Encore in a cash deal from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. Encore is a software publisher specializing in PC titles based on popular franchises like Sesame Street, Dragon Tales, National Geographic, Kaplan and others — many of which run on the Mac as well. Its assets also include the rights to console and handheld properties.
Navarre’s acquisition of Encore’s assets will not result in any share dilution, nor will Navarre acquire any of Encore’s liabilities, according to the company. Encore CEO and founder Mike Bell will continue overseeing operations at Encore. Navarre expects the acquisition “to be accretive to its earnings per share this year.” In other words, the company is hoping that the asset acquisition will make them money.
Navarre president and CEO Eric Paulson said in a statement that the acquisition is consistent with his company’s strategy over the past year. “With the acquisition of Encore, we can more actively participate in the high-growth video game industry. Additionally, our participation in this industry enables us to further extend our direct distribution relationships with large retailers generating solid sell-through of Encore titles.”