German developer Daedalic Entertainment is flying solo. The studio has purchased shares from its original parent company Bastei Lübbe AG as part of a management buy-out. The share sale will take place at the end of May for an undisclosed purchase price. Bastei Lübbe has been suffering from financial troubles for some time (that link is in German and we've used Google Translate to put it into English, so some errors may be present).
The shares, which constitute 41 percent of the sum total, will be taken over by managing founding partner Carsten Fichtelmann and commercial director Stephan Harms. This is part of an operation on Bastei Lübbe's part to "[implement] concentration on the publishing business". As part of the deal, a minority interest of 10 percent of the shares will remain with Bastei Lübbe, so the company hasn't sold all of its shares in Daedalic. This simply means that Daedalic will effectively be master of its own destiny henceforth.
Bastei Lübbe says this sale represents a continuation of its corporate strategy, which it describes as "a clear focus on the publishing business". The company goes on to say that it "support[s] the management buyout" and will participate in future value increases thanks to the 10 percent shares in Daedalic it retains. On Daedalic's part, Fichtelmann says the studio is "pleased" that it can take over the shares of Bastei Lübbe and that it will continue to develop and market "great games".
Daedalic Entertainment is a German developer and publisher perhaps best known for its Deponia point-and-click series. As a developer, it's created games like Deponia, Anna's Quest, and The Whispered World. Its publishing ventures include Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth and Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun. The developer is currently working on a Lord of the Rings game focusing on Gollum. We're not sure when that game will land but it will be Daedalic's first high profile release after the management buyout.
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