Midway UK Purchased for 50p

Monday, 10 August 2009 08:24 Man Pac Industry News - Industry News

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Following last month's closure of Midway Newcastle, the development team responsible for The Wheelman, it has today been revealed that the remainder of Midway’s UK business has been purchased for approximately £0.50 (GBP). Midway's managing director for Europe, Martin Spiess, has negotiated the bargain deal, which sees him buy both the Midway Games France and UK offices for €1, around £0.86 at the time of writing.

Revealed through a new filing with the US' Securities and Exchange Commission, courtesy of UK trade publication MCV, Midway UK and France will now be owned by Spiess Media Holding UG - a German company the SEC report explains was 'formed by Martin Spiess for the purpose of purchasing the shares of [Midway Games UK] and [Midway Games France]'.

The deal states that Midway's European teams now Electronic Theatre Image have just 90 days to sell the rest of the Midway branded/developed/published stock they have, and a clause in the agreement says the offices must otherwise drop the Midway name immediately.

The deal is effectively a management buyout. Midway Germany's general manager Uwe Fürstenberg has similarly negotiated the purchase of the German office, the SEC filing also reveals - although it doesn't specify how much Fürstenberg's outfit F+F Publishing paid. The deal also terminates Spiess' and Fürstenberg's employment with Midway as the ties between the remaining assets of the Midway business and its US HQ are severed.

The SEC filing implies that Midway Games US will also eventually benefit from the sale. Spiess and Fürstenberg's winding down of Midway UK, France and Germany should result in the resolution "of certain intercompany obligations" which will mean "a payment of approximately One Million Seven Hundred Thousand Dollars ($1,700,000) from [Midway Games Limited] to [Midway USA] at the closing of the transactions".

It’s currently unclear what Spiess and Fürstenberg's intentions for the new businesses are, though once the legal proceedings wind down we’re likely to receive a clearer picture. Electronic Theatre will keep you updated.

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