GAME Puts Itself on Sale

[Mike Kayatta]

GAME Puts Itself on Sale

With the threat of administration looming, a new report claims that the largest UK gaming retailer is looking for a buyer.

It's no secret that GAME has fallen on hard times. After miserable sales figures during this past holiday season, the company's share price plummeted, as did its relationship with some of the industry's top game suppliers (most notably, Capcom, Nintendo, and EA). Without the ability to stock some of the gaming community's most desirable titles (read: Mass Effect 3), and with potential dissolution looming ominously close [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/116256-Senior-GAME-Execs-Warned-of-Looming-Administration], it seems that GAME has run out of every option but one. The Sunday Times has reported that GAME has hired on financial advisory group Rothschild to find a potential buyer, and broker a deal to sell the company.

If the report is accurate, the next obvious question is: Who would be interested in purchasing GAME now? Many seem to think GameStop. Though the retailer has historically shared a tumultuous relationship with the UK market (closing down its physical stores in England and Northern Ireland in favor of a website), the prospect of controlling a similar market dominance to what it enjoys in North America may be appealing enough for the execs to make the leap.

Currently, however, all mention of GameStop's interest, or lack thereof, is hearsay, as the company has declined to comment on the prospect. But if GameStop was to bite, it would probably be for approximately £15 million ($19.7 million), the business's currently estimated market value. I bet you wish you could sell a used GAME to GameStop for so much.

Terrible, terrible jokes aside, GAME is currently a job-provider to thousands, and the sale of its holdings could be key to saving those people from unemployment. So for them, and for those just hoping to still have a game-centric retailer around in the UK, let's hope a solution is found one way or another, and soon.

Source: The Sunday Times via MCV [http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/report-game-puts-itself-up-for-sale/092593?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mcvuk%2Fstream+%28MCV%3A+Home+Stream%29]

Permalink

 

[Albino Boo]

No one is going to buy it this side of administration. The debt that the company holds is just to high. Its much cheaper to buy the company from the administrators with debt written off. The obvious buyer Gamestop has publicly said that they don't want the Australian business which is another reason not buy now, the administrators are far more likely to sell Gamestop just the bits they want rather than Game itself.

 

[bobmus]

Every day is more bad news for GAME, and it's not like no-one saw this coming when the first bad signs were announced. GAME is doomed, but it's difficult to tell if this will be good or bad for UK game prices

 

[Vault Citizen]

I hope that GAME can be saved, failing that I hope that I have the cash to spend when the closing down sales happen.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

I popped in out of curiousity, they're having a massive sale on preowned hardware and games, as I assume they have far less value to the company as stock. New stuff must be far easier to value, come the last day.

I have to admit to being tempted by a Wii for £40 tho. Also the preowned Kinects for £60, but then I thought how good is the warranty if the whole company goes tits up a week after I buy it?

As it was, I got a second turntable for DJ Hero for £3, now to find out if it works

(Oh and Buzz, the Master Quiz on PSP for 99p)

They were still charging a tenner for some not particularly good PS2 games however in the preowned section which seemed strange.

 

[Alfador_VII]

It's looking even worse for them by the day. This morning they got cut off by more suppliers and their shares dropped over 60% on the day, from an already catastrophically low price.

They're now worth about a ninth of what they were 3 months ago.

 

[Storm Dragon]

You just lost it.

 

[chinlamp]

You know, everyone is talking about the European GAME, but the Aussie ones are doing ok, from what the manager at my local one told me. Hell, they even had a surplus of Mass Effect 3. And they are still stocking all the games from companies apparently not selling to them anymore.

So, and this is just me here, what if GAME sells off its European branch and just keeps its still above water Australian branch? Obviously, this would mean reduced profits and salaries for the CEO(s), but it would also mean that GAME isn't gone completely.

 

[Beautiful End]

Well...it would be a good opportunity for GameStop to sweep in and save the day AND the jobs of thousands of people. After GAME is gone, it seems the video game retail business will be, for the most part, pretty wide open. So even if GAME is up to its ears in debt, it sounds like a profitable opportunity.

By the way, I'm not very well informed when it comes to GAME, so this is just my humble assumption. And mind you, Business is not my major.

 

[Riobux]

Considering that Game owns Gamestation which got merged with Gamesplay recently...Game's collapse is going to be a humorous social observation on the gaming culture.

 

[Mortuorum]

No one is going to buy it this side of administration. The debt that the company holds is just to high. Its much cheaper to buy the company from the administrators with debt written off. The obvious buyer Gamestop has publicly said that they don't want the Australian business which is another reason not buy now, the administrators are far more likely to sell Gamestop just the bits they want rather than Game itself.

Exactly. The time to sell would have been about a year ago when there was still some value in the company. Now, all GameStop (or any other potential purchaser) would be buying is some out of date inventory and a lot of baggage.

Once they've gone through bankruptcy (or the UK equivalent) GameStop will be able to cherry-pick the parts of the GAME empire they want for pennies on the dollar. Er, pound. That said, GameStop would be wise to create a retail presence in the UK after GAME goes belly-up. They were in a very good position when their only competitor was GAME, since they were weak competition. (Their only real competition right now is Amazon UK.) But if GameStop doesn't step in and fill the void left by GAME, someone else might. And if that "someone else" is Richard Branson or another entrepreneur with deep pockets and good business sense, GameStop might just find it's lost the UK market.

 

[lacktheknack]

You just lost it.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

OT: Wow, that's a shame. What are the alternatives for Brit gamers?

 

[DigitalSushi]

The problem is that no company in their right mind would buy GAME right now, they would rather wait for the bankrupcy to kick in for the administrators to pick the accounts to the bones and then move into the UK sector.

They might be worth only £15 million which seems like a good deal at first, but they haven't got credit with the banks and their quarterly rent bill of £15 million is due in a week or two. SO you gotta pay the landlords and then buy your the Vidya Games up front because you can even sell them, your in the red before you start.

Its a shame because the staff in GAME are always really helpful, its a joy to shop in those stores, not only will they lose their jobs but distribution plants in the UK will feel the pinch too since entire sections of their warehouses previously reserved for GAME will go unused and wasted not to mention my friends in couriering jobs are telling me people are being laid off because of un-needed retailer demand for deliveries.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

OT: Wow, that's a shame. What are the alternatives for Brit gamers?

With HMV closing down a load of stores the only dominant Gaming force on the British high street are these guys;
BlockBusters.

I'm not fucking kidding

They had Zavvi Megastores but that went down a couple of years ago because a rival called Woolworths went down, unfortunately a sister company to Woolworth's was the main warehouse operator in the UK for Media (Music, Gaming, Films) so the Administrators disolved them to pay off the tax bill... meaning Zavvi couldn't get any new stock and went bust after 3 months.

 

[Pipotchi]

I sent into Game today and scored some sweet deals, Battlefield 3 for 15 quid and a bunch of PSP games for 99p each.

I dont generally like Game I always preferred Gamestation before they became the same company, but people losing their employment is never a good thing

 

[AnarchistFish]

OT: Wow, that's a shame. What are the alternatives for Brit gamers?

Amazon, HMV and play.com I guess. HMV is the only one with stores though and it's not primarily focussed on games. And even HMV is facing difficulties and may not last much longer. I get most of my games from Amazon these days anyway. GameStop doesn't really exist here.

 

[dontlooknow]

I might be wrong, but is Gamestation owned by Game? If all we're going to be left with is HMV and some poxy 'best selling' racks in Tescos, then god help us all?

As a side note, last I heard, HMV haven't been doing very well either; which explains their new move to try and sell EVERYTHING even remotely associated with digital media. And it's still only relatively recently that we've seen the closing of Zavvi and Boarders: could this be the beginning of an entertainment industry-wide meltdown, culminating in everyone having to buy anything fun online?

Now, I like t'internet as much as the next aggressively reclusive misanthrope, but that's all a bit sad.

EDIT: This is indeed a sad prospect, but I've just remembered what happened when Woolworths shut down. Think of the sales!

 

[Spygon]

It seems going into a game shop to buy games will be a thing of the past in the UK soon.A shame as i spent alot of my childhood looking at different games,chatting to the staff and attending launch events in my childhood.Thank you for the memories game and gamestation you will be missed

 

[Lunar Templar]

any body else got the weird mental image of the game logo on a street corner in a mini skirt trying to wave down passing cars?

no?

ok ....