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British Film Institute

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The British Film Institute is a UK charity and cultural body for film and moving image. It publishes research and reports, including work on the UK video games industry such as the impact of overseas mergers and acquisitions.

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Cover of How to Measure the Impact of Overseas Mergers & Acquisitions on the UK Video Games Industry
Report89 pages

How to Measure the Impact of Overseas Mergers & Acquisitions on the UK Video Games Industry

The UK video games industry has experienced a significant surge in overseas mergers and acquisitions between 1993 and 2022, with activity peaking sharply from 2018 to 2021.

  • Overseas M&A activity in the UK video games industry surged significantly between 1993 and 2022, with a distinct peak in transaction volume occurring between 2018 and 2021.
  • US-based entities are the primary drivers of UK studio acquisitions, motivated by the strategic acquisition of established intellectual property and experienced development talent.
  • Measuring the impact of these acquisitions is hindered by structural data limitations, as standard industry classification codes are unreliable and many target firms are private, rendering traditional share-price event studies unfeasible.
British Film InstituteOct 2023