Dublin-based Keywords Studios plans stg£10m IPO

11 Jun 2013

Andrew Day, CEO, Keywords Studios

Keywords Studios, the Dublin-headquartered technical services provider to the video-games industry, has announced it intends to float on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM), with the company seeking to raise stg£10m in its initial public offering (IPO).

Set up in Dublin in 1998 by Teresa Luppino and Giorgio Guastalla, Keywords Studios provides localisation, audio and testing services to the global video-games market. Its client base includes Microsoft, EA, Disney, and Blizzard Entertainment.

Recent titles Keywords Studios has worked on include Pro Evolution Soccer 2013, Halo 4 and FarmVille 2.

As well as its Dublin headquarters, the company has offices in Tokyo, Rome, Montreal and Seattle.

Keywords announced its intention to float on the AIM yesterday. The company is hoping to raise stg£10m to expand its localisation services into new entertainment markets, such as online gambling and e-learning and make acquisitions.

“Over the last few years, we have grown rapidly to secure a strong position in the global video-games technical services industry,” said chief executive Andrew Day.

With its planned IPO, he said Keywords Studios is seeking to extend its service offering and geographical footprint to take advantage of the high growth forecasted in the global video-games industry.

The company, which employs 120 staff, reported a pre-tax profit of €2.74m on revenues of €14.34m last year.

Carmel Doyle was a long-time reporter with Silicon Republic

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