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Tradewest continues ex-Midway Europe exec hirings
Having worked with Nick Howard in the past at Midway Europe where he acted as head of sales, Tradewest Games head Martin Spiess recently added Howard to the growing roster of ex-Midway Europe employees now employed by his newly formed outfit. "Nick has been a key contributor to our business over the years and we are confident that his appointment will accelerate Tradewest's growth strategy," Spiess told MCV. Howard will act as managing director for the nascent company, specifically looking over UK sales and marketing. We've still yet to hear what Tradewest Games is up to in terms of, well, games, but hopefully this new hire is bringing the company closer to revealing some details.
Tradewest Games hints at upcoming IP lineup reveal
Martin Spiess has been busy the past few months, between raising €1 to buy Midway UK and France and resurrecting the long gone Tradewest Games moniker. The ex-Midway exec's acquisition of the two company branches went light on the details in the SEC filing, leaving us with a handful of questions for the recently re-branded company. We contacted Tradewest to find out exactly what the acquisition means for the future of the company, in terms of assets gained. "We`ve got a portfolio of [our] own IPs and will announce highlights from our line-up over the next weeks," a representative told Joystiq. And what does it mean when the filing says Mr. Spiess has acquired the UK and France offices, specifically? "This includes all of the companies assets ... that also means that Tradewest has direct access to two of Europe´s biggest markets for games products." Unfortunately, the rep couldn't tell us much more at the moment. And yes, we're still keeping our fingers crossed for Battletoads.
Midway Europe buyout complete, renamed Tradewest Games
GamesIndustry.biz reports that the acquisition of Midway's English and French offices, by Martin Spiess, and the German office, by Uwe Fürstenberg and Hans Meyer, for a single Euro combined has been finalized. On the way more exciting side of this news, however, is the announcement that the UK and France offices will be re-branded as Tradewest Games, resurrecting the name from its rather dusty tomb. According to Spiess, Tradewest will become "a European full service provider in the fields of game distribution and publishing," a transition made possible by "a well-experienced European team behind [TG] that has proven its expertise and know-how in the past years by bringing to market some of the biggest games projects in the world." Interesting that you note that, Mr. Spiess, as none of the games released in "the past years" have been Battletoads. What of that, then? We've contacted Tradewest to find out exactly what this will mean for those classic IPs, among other things, and will update this post if we hear more.
Midway UK and France offices bought for 1 euro (combined)
In a move that leaves us scratching our heads, ex-Midway Europe managing director Martin Spiess has purchased the Midway UK and France executive offices for a combined amount of one euro. According to the SEC filing, Mr. Spiess formed Spiess Media Holding UG to purchase the companies, in what MCV UK calls a "management buyout." Additionally, Midway Germany's general manager, Uwe Fürstenberg, has purchased the German branch for an undisclosed amount.The kicker on all of these business dealings? In buying the UK and France offices, Spiess has tied his company to "a payment of approximately One Million Seven Hundred Thousand Dollars ($1,700,000) from [Midway Games Limited] to [Midway USA]" at the "closing of transactions." Spiess has 90 days to turn around the Midway-branded stock. Good luck, Mr. Spiess! From what we've seen of Midway over the past six months, you're going to need it.[Via MCV UK]
