Bastei Lübbe AG: Bastei Lübbe AG acquiring majority share in prize-winning game development house Daedalic Entertainment GmbH

Bastei Lübbe AG  / Key word(s): Investment16.05.2014 15:40Dissemination of an Ad hoc announcement according to § 15 WpHG, transmittedby DGAP - a company of EQS Group AG.The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.---------------------------------------------------------------------------Cologne/Hamburg, 16th of May 2014 - Bastei Lübbe AG, listed in the PrimeStandard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ISIN DE000A1X3YY0), is acquiringa 51% stake in Daedalic Entertainment GmbH of Hamburg. The contracts forthis transaction, part of the company's multimedia growth strategy, weresigned today. Daedalic Entertainment, known for its prize-winning adventureand story-based computer games, is widely regarded as one of Germany's topgame development and publishing houses. The company received its second"Studio of the Year" award in 2013, following in the footsteps of itstriumph in 2009. Daedalic Entertainment earned revenues of roughly 6 mneuros in 2013, representing EBIT margins of over 10%. The Hamburg-basedcompany is forecasting rising revenues through 2015, to around 14 mn euros,and EBIT growth of over 2 mn euros.The two companies are planning a close strategic partnership that willpreserve and promote Daedalic's creative freedom for future developments.For Bastei Lübbe, the acquisition represents an expansion of its activitiesin this field. Deadalic's brands, including the games "Deponia" and "Edna &Harvey: The Breakout", bring with them a significant fan base, laying anideal groundwork for synergy in the film, audio, comic and eBook areas.The operative collaboration is effective immediately. The sides have agreednot to disclose any information about the purchase price for thecontrolling stake.About Bastei Lübbe AG:Bastei Lübbe AG is a media company organised around its publishing venture.It publishes books, audio books, ebooks and digital products in both theliterary and popular science genres, as well as serialised novels andpuzzle magazines.  Bastei Lübbe is also actively involved in brandlicensing and the development, production and distribution of gift,decoration and merchandising articles. Bastei Lübbe has for many yearsenjoyed an almost unbroken streak as the market leader in the growingsegment of hard-cover literature; in 2013 its literary ebooks division wasalso ranked number one on the market. 2013 saw the company's 60thanniversary celebration and its launch as a publicly traded company. Sharesof Bastei Lübbe AG are listed in the Prime Standard segment of theFrankfurt Stock Exchange (WKN A1X3YY, ISIN DE000A1X3YY0).About Daedalic Entertainment GmbH:Hamburg-based Daedalic Entertainment develops and markets high-qualitycomputer and video games for a global market. The studio puts adevelopmental focus on outstanding entertainment software with a strongnarrative character. Daedalic titles like Goodbye Deponia have claimed 21German Developer prizes, including "Studio of the Year" in 2009 and 2013.Its Chaos on Deponia also earned the studio the German Computer GamingPrize as "Best German Game of 2013". Daedalic Entertainment has won theGerman Computer Gaming Prize five times in all, as well as one EuropeanGames Award. Titles like Goodbye Deponia, Memoria and Edna & Harvey: TheBreakout have set new benchmarks for the adventure segment. As a publisherof third-party content, Daedalic Entertainment has released unusual andoutstanding titles such as Torchlight II, Gomo, Munin and Divinity:Original Sin.Kontakt Bastei Lübbe AG:Barbara FischerLeitung Presse undVeranstaltungsmarketingTel.: 0221 / 82 00 28 50E-Mail: barbara.fischer@luebbe.de16.05.2014 DGAP's Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements,Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Language:     EnglishCompany:      Bastei Lübbe AG              Schanzenstraße 6 - 20              51063 Köln              GermanyPhone:        02 21 / 82 00 - 0Fax:          02 21 / 82 00 - 1900E-mail:       investorrelations@luebbe.deInternet:     www.luebbe.deISIN:         DE000A1X3YY0, DE000A1K0169WKN:          A1X3YY, A1K016Listed:       Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr              in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, Stuttgart End of Announcement                             DGAP News-Service ---------------------------------------------------------------------------