Codemasters Sells 50 Per Cent Of Shares

Codemasters has announced that Reliance Big Entertainment has acquired a 50 per cent shareholding in the company.Reliance’s gaming division, Zapak Digital Entertainment – the largest gaming company in India – will be overseeing the Codemasters investment, apparently, with that division’s experience spread across online casual games, publishing MMOs, gaming cafes, mobile games (through Jump Games) and “physical distribution of gaming software.”Existing investor Balderton Capital, the European venture capital firm that invested in Codies back in 2005, is “gratified by the confidence in Codemasters that Reliance’s initiative represents,” according to partner Tim Bunting.Zapak appears to have some plans for Codemasters, with Zapak CEO Rohit Sharma stating that Codemasters’ “very strong technology, development and distribution presence will complement our gaming portfolio.””Additionally, Zapak’s global strength in mobile gaming will enhance Codemasters’ ability to fully leverage its attractive franchises such as racing and cricket games,” added Sharma.”The opportunities arising from this partnership are truly exciting,” says Codemasters’ chief executive Rod Cousens. “This is great news for our development and publishing teams. Reliance and Zapak have immense resources and will help us realise the full potential of our game coding and online excellence across so many platforms, and especially in the world’s fastest growing markets.”We’ve contacted Codemasters for comment.