Retailer GAME has announced its exit from administration following a successful bid by Comet owners OpCapita.
Private investment firm OpCapita has secured a sale of GAME's UK assets to Baker Acquisitions Limited.
Under the terms of the deal Baker has bought the UK arm of GAME Group out of administration and will provide it with the required capital to resume trading on a normalised basis. There are no plans for future store closures.
Baker, which is based in London, was founded in November 2011.
More importantly, the agreement safeguard the remaining 333 UK stores and secures the jobs of nearly 3,200 GAME employees. All of these staff are now employed by Baker.
Crucially, this will also mean Baker is not responsible for those who lost their jobs with The GAME Group – bad news for those currently trying to fight for their unpaid notice and redundancy pay.
It's also bad news for investors. With the UK assets now owned by Baker, GAME Group remains suspended on the stock exchange. Investors' only hope now is that enough money can be raised from the sale of the international business for them to recoup their investment.
“We are pleased to have reached agreement with the Administrator,” OpCapita managing partner Henry Jackson stated. “We strongly believe there is a place on the high street for a video gaming specialist and GAME is the leading brand in a £2.8bn market in the UK.
“We have assembled a strong team of experienced industry operators to implement the programme of operational change that is needed. There is a huge amount to do but we look forward to the challenge of restoring GAME’s fortunes in partnership with its employees and suppliers.”
PwC administrator Mike Jervis added: "We are delighted to be able to secure this business sale and provide some much needed stability for customers, suppliers and employees alike in these uncertain times. The support of these stakeholders has been crucial over the last week and I would like to thank them for their support throughout this difficult period.
"This means that the GAME brand will not be another one of the retail names disappearing from the high street in the current difficult climate."
GAME Group's non-UK operations remain up for sale,http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/offic...tration/093722