Dark Horse Comics Sold to Swedish Gaming Firm | Founder Says No Business Restructure

Dark Horse Comics has been sold to the gaming firm, Embracer group, but the comic book publisher will still be independently led by its CEO and founder, Mike Richardson.

Dark Horse Comics Sold to Swedish Gaming Firm

The Sweden-based gaming giant has purchased the third most popular comic book publisher in the United States.

Dark Horse usually sits on the third to the fifth spot as it lags behind both Marvel and DC Comics in terms of market share, as per the news story by IGN.

The CEO of Dark Horse, Richardson, who also founded the publishing firm way back in 1986, boldly announced that the future of his company "has never looked brighter."

The Dark Horse boss further said that he is extremely excited "as Dark Horse moves into this new chapter in our history."

He added that the opportunity of the recent acquisition not only gives the comic book publisher a brighter future, the creators of the gaming firm, along with other companies that it is working with, are also in for a treat.

Meanwhile, the Swedish gaming firm assured that the operation of Dark Horse would not be changed, noting that there are no plans for any business restructuring.

It is worth mentioning that Embracer already owns nine subsidiaries that operate on its own, making Dark Horse the 10th one to do so independently.

Dark Horse Ownership

According to the report by Oregon Live, the founder and the Chief Operating Officer or COO of the Oregon-based publisher, Niel Hankerson currently owned 20% of the shares of the comic book firm.

Meanwhile, the rest of the shares had been previously purchased by a Chinese investor way back in 2018, giving Vanguard Visionary Associates of Hong Hong a majority stake in the United States-based publisher.

Dark Horse: How Big is it?

Currently, the comic book publisher founded in the 80s has expanded its services to entertainment and retail stores.

But still, its comic book business has been flourishing as it holds licenses to massive franchises like "Avatar: The Last Airbender," "Star Wars," as well as Netflix-hit series "Stranger Things" and "Witcher."

On top of that, the entertainment division of the comic book company is home to some iconic movie titles, such as "Timecop," "The Mask," and even "Hellboy."

Aside from that, Dark Horse Entertainment is also behind the hit series titles, including "Resident Alien" and "Umbrella Academy."

Dark Horse Comics and Video Games

Although both firms have yet to release the terms of the acquisition, IGN noted that the recent purchase could suggest that Embracer Group is looking into producing gaming titles based on the IP properties of Dark Horse Comics.

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Written by Teejay Boris