Game acquires Gamestation for A$179m

Stores to maintain separate identities.

European video game retailer Game has acquired its nearest competitor Gamestation from Blockbuster for £74m (A$179m). 

The move adds Gamestation's 217 stores to Game's 830 stores across Europe. Gamestation is to maintain its brand, however.

There are unlikely to be any layoffs in the near future as the management team from Gamestation is to be incorporated into the Game group.

David Thomas, deputy chief executive of Game, said that the Game stores cater well to the general public and are traditionally located in prominent high street locations.

Gamestation stores will cater more to gaming enthusiasts and are found more commonly in secondary high street and shopping centre locations.

"The Gamestation business is one we have long admired and is complementary to our existing business in terms of store portfolio and target customer," said Peter Lewis, chairman of Game.

Michael Pachter, a analyst at Wedbush Morgan, told GamesIndustry.biz that US retailer GameStop missed an opportunity in not buying Gamestation. 

"They should be in the UK market, and instead of purchasing Gamestation and immediately being one-third the size of Game Group, they allowed Game Group to get bigger," he said.

"If GameStop were to open 200 stores now, they would be a quarter the size of Game. They could have been two-thirds the size of Game by buying these stores and opening 200 more."

The Gamestation concession stands found in many Blockbuster video rental stores were not included in the deal and will be "debranded" by the end of July.

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