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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contacts: David Tractenberg Anatoly Subbotin
1C Company and Buka Ltd. announce ACQUISITION deal
MOSCOW, Russia- July 17, 2008 - Leading Eastern and Central European publisher 1C Company officially announced today that it has signed an agreement in which it has acquired one of the largest Russian publishing and distribution companies, BUKA.
1C and BUKA are two of the most well known brands in the Russian games and multimedia market. Future cooperation opens new horizons for the strategic development of both companies.
A merger is currently not planned, but managers of both enterprises will try to make the best use of the synergy in their publishing, distribution and marketing activities. This approach will give both 1C and BUKA a chance to develop even faster, outstripping the market's rate of growth.
"BUKA is one of the oldest players on the Russian game market. I always admired the company, its corporate culture, staff, management and operational efficiency," said Boris Nuraliev, Director of 1C Company. "The mutual potential of 1C and BUKA opens new unique opportunities and will help us to achieve success on this challenging and rapidly growing market. It will be an honor for us to develop such a well-known and popular brand."
"We have received offers from several potential buyers, however 1C's advantages were obvious. 1C is our long-term partner. We have experienced firsthand what 1C's basic principles are - to be honest to partners, customers and employees," comments Igor Ustinov, Chairman of Board of Directors of BUKA. "We highly estimate our staff and the brand that we were developing through all these years. Therefore one of the main aims for shareholders was to leave the company in good hands."
About 1C Company 1C Company specializes in distribution, publishing and development of business, entertainment and educational software. Founded in 1991, 1C has become the largest publisher and distributor of computer and video games in Eastern and Central Europe. 1C Company is widely acknowledged as a game developer and has several internal studios. Internal developments of 1C include IL-2 Sturmovik series and Theatre of War. 1C Company works as a publisher and producer with over 30 independent development studios and has produced over 100 projects for PC and consoles including titles like King of the Road, Space Rangers, Soldiers: Heroes of World War II, Perimeter, Fantasy Wars, Death to Spies, King's Bounty.
For more information on 1C please contact us at the numbers above or go to our website at www.1cpublishing.com.
About BUKA BUKA today is one of the leading Russian publishers and distributors of computer games developed in Russia and licensed from abroad. It was back to 1993 when Buka began to distribute its first video and computer games. Today 14 years of active work mean:
- More than 250 highly skilled employees
- 6 regional offices in the main cities of Russia
- Long term partnership with the leading International and Russian publishers and developers, among which are: THQ, Ubisoft, Valve, Codemasters, Lesta Studio, Targem, CDV
- Years lasting experience and professionalism that is embodied in a great number of worldwide know hits like Far Cry, Half Life series, War Hammer 40,000: Dawn of War developing and producing a number of famous Russian games: - Hard Truck series, Pacific Storm and the upcoming "Collapse".
The statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements." The Company cautions readers of this press release that a number of important factors could cause the 1C Company's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in any such forward-looking statements. 1C Company and 1C logo are registered trademarks of the 1C Company. Buka and Buka logo are registered trademarks of Buka Ltd. All other company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. |
