117-597: Embracer Group AB (formerly Nordic Games Licensing AB and THQ Nordic AB ) is a Swedish video game and media holding company based in Karlstad . The company comprises 9 operative groups: Amplifier Game Invest, Asmodee , CDE Entertainment, Coffee Stain , Dark Horse Media, Deca Games , Freemode, Plaion , and THQ Nordic . Embracer Group was established as Nordic Games Licensing within Nordic Games Group in 2011. The latter had previously purchased assets from
234-720: A $ 525 million to establish its fifth operative group. The holding raised $ 164 million in April 2020 for future expansion and bought Deca Games as its sixth operative group for €25 million in August 2020. In the same month, the Embracer Group announced the acquisitions of Palindrome Interactive, Rare Earth Games and Vermila Studios under Amplifier Game Invest, 4A Games and New World Interactive under Saber Interactive, Pow Wow Entertainment under THQ Nordic, and Sola Media under Koch Media's film division. By November,
351-472: A Bronze Age bridge were found on the south River Thames foreshore, upstream from Vauxhall Bridge . Two of the timbers were radiocarbon dated to 1750–1285 BC. In 2010, foundations of a large timber structure, dated to 4800–4500 BC, were found on the Thames' south foreshore downstream from Vauxhall Bridge. Both structures are on the south bank of the Thames, where the now-underground River Effra flows into
468-500: A public company in 2016 and was renamed Embracer Group in 2019. Until 2023, Embracer Group rapidly grew through major acquisitions and investments. After a US$ 2 billion investment unexpectedly fell through, the company was more than $ 2 billion in debt and began closing and selling multiple studios and while laying off people at others. On 22 April 2024, Embracer Group announced its intention to transform into three standalone publicly listed entities on Nasdaq Stockholm within
585-559: A 50% ownership in the company. In February 2018, THQ Nordic acquired the Austrian multimedia company Koch Media , which operated the Deep Silver video game label, for €121 million . Koch Media was set to operate independently under THQ Nordic, separate from THQ Nordic GmbH. To better reflect its holding function and to avoid confusion between THQ Nordic and its Viennese office, THQ Nordic stated that it planned to rename itself in
702-430: A consideration of $ 1.2 billion, with the transaction expected to close in early 2025. As of June 2024, Embracer Group employs 12,000+ people across 106 studios in 10 operative groups. Holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose
819-488: A karaoke bar in Watford , England, Nordic Games Publishing assembled a song list for a prospective game and started producing what would later become We Sing . Around this time, Nordic Games Publishing also released Dance Party Club Hits , a dance game that came bundled with a dancing mat. In 2009, Nordic Games Publishing had a turnover of 50 million kr, of which 75% were accounted for by sales of We Sing . For 2010,
936-711: A large-scale restructuring programme focused on cost reduction, comprising layoffs, studio closures and divestments, and project cancellations until March 2024. The company closed the THQ Nordic studio Campfire Cabal in June and the Gearbox studios Volition in August and Free Radical Design in December. Other studios were subject to layoffs. By November 2023, Embracer Group had laid off 904 employees, roughly 5% of its workforce, and cancelled at least fifteen projects. As such,
1053-542: A larger area, similar in size to Greater London, although some outer districts are excluded and some just outside included. The Greater London boundary has been aligned to the M25 motorway in places. Further urban expansion is now prevented by the Metropolitan Green Belt , although the built-up area extends beyond the boundary in places, producing a separately defined Greater London Urban Area . Beyond this
1170-589: A matter of broadcast regulation . In the United States, a personal holding company is defined in section 542 of the Internal Revenue Code . A corporation is a personal holding company if both of the following requirements are met: A parent company is a company that owns enough voting power in another firm (or subsidiary ) to control management and operations by influencing or electing its board of directors . The definition of
1287-478: A new limited company and, together with potential customers acting as investors, reformed Nordic Games under the name Game Outlet Europe. The new company saw success with purchasing unsold inventory from larger video game companies (such as Electronic Arts ), repackaging them on pallets in its Karlstad headquarters, and selling them on the international market and through other retail chains, including Jula, Coop , and ICA . In December 2008, Nordic Games Publishing
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#17327937022461404-564: A newly established subsidiary office in Vienna , Austria. Several former JoWooD employees were hired by Nordic Games GmbH to work on the backlog sales of former JoWooD properties, and Nordic Games Publishing was integrated into Nordic Games GmbH to facilitate publishing operations. Nordic Games Licensing AB, also established in 2011, became the holding company within Nordic Games Holding (later known as Nordic Games Group), as well as
1521-425: A parent company differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, with the definition normally being defined by way of laws dealing with companies in that jurisdiction. When an existing company establishes a new company and keeps majority shares with itself, and invites other companies to buy minority shares, it is called a parent company. A parent company could simply be a company that wholly owns another company, which
1638-403: A population density of 802 per acre (325 per hectare). In addition to the growing number of stores selling goods, such as Harding, Howell & Co. —one of the first department stores —located on Pall Mall , the streets had scores of street sellers . London's overcrowded conditions led to cholera epidemics, claiming 14,000 lives in 1848, and 6,000 in 1866. Rising traffic congestion led to
1755-573: A population of 7,172,036 in 2001 and a population density of 11,760 inhabitants per square mile (4,542/km ). The extended area known as the London Metropolitan Region or the London Metropolitan Agglomeration, comprises a total area of 3,236 square miles (8,382 km ) has a population of 13,709,000 and a population density of 3,900 inhabitants per square mile (1,510/km ). Modern London stands on
1872-499: A temperate oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ). Rainfall records have been kept in the city since at least 1697, when records began at Kew . At Kew, the most rainfall in one month is 7.4 inches (189 mm) in November 1755 and the least is 0 inches (0 mm) in both December 1788 and July 1800. Mile End also had 0 inches (0 mm) in April 1893. The wettest year on record is 1903, with a total fall of 38.1 inches (969 mm) and
1989-472: A tending subsidiary of the purchasing company, which, in turn, becomes the parent company of the subsidiary. (A holding below 50% could be sufficient to give a parent company material influence if they are the largest individual shareholder or if they are placed in control of the running of the operation by non-operational shareholders.) In the United Kingdom, the term holding company is defined by
2106-646: Is 1,049.8 millibars (31.00 inHg) on 20 January 2020. Summers are generally warm, sometimes hot. London's average July high is 23.5 °C (74.3 °F). On average each year, London experiences 31 days above 25 °C (77.0 °F) and 4.2 days above 30.0 °C (86.0 °F). During the 2003 European heat wave , prolonged heat led to hundreds of heat-related deaths. A previous spell of 15 consecutive days above 32.2 °C (90.0 °F) in England in 1976 also caused many heat related deaths. A previous temperature of 37.8 °C (100.0 °F) in August 1911 at
2223-562: Is agreed that the name came into these languages from Common Brythonic ; recent work tends to reconstruct the lost Celtic form of the name as * Londonjon or something similar. This was then adapted into Latin as Londinium and borrowed into Old English. Until 1889, the name "London" applied officially only to the City of London , but since then it has also referred to the County of London and to Greater London . In 1993, remains of
2340-466: Is defined by Part 1.2, Division 6, Section 46 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) , which states: A body corporate (in this section called the first body) is a subsidiary of another body corporate if, and only if: Toronto-based lawyer Michael Finley has stated, "The emerging trend that has seen international plaintiffs permitted to proceed with claims against Canadian parent companies for
2457-545: Is formed of two tiers: a citywide, strategic tier and a local tier. Citywide administration is coordinated by the Greater London Authority (GLA), while local administration is carried out by 33 smaller authorities. The GLA consists of two elected components: the mayor of London , who has executive powers , and the London Assembly , which scrutinises the mayor's decisions and can accept or reject
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#17327937022462574-760: Is headquartered in Thames House on the north bank of the River Thames and the foreign intelligence service ( MI6 ) is headquartered in the SIS Building on the south bank. Crime rates vary widely across different areas of London. Crime figures are made available nationally at Local Authority and Ward level. In 2015, there were 118 homicides, a 25.5% increase over 2014. Recorded crime has been rising in London, notably violent crime and murder by stabbing and other means have risen. There were 50 murders from
2691-592: Is held by an independent . The ministerial post of minister for London was created in 1994, however as of 2024, the post has been vacant. Policing in Greater London, with the exception of the City of London , is provided by the Metropolitan Police ("The Met"), overseen by the mayor through the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC). The Met is also referred to as Scotland Yard after
2808-500: Is known as London . It is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England by convention rather than statute. The capital of England was moved to London from Winchester as the Palace of Westminster developed in the 12th and 13th centuries to become the permanent location of the royal court , and thus the political capital of the nation. Greater London encompasses a total area of 611 square miles (1,583 km ) an area which had
2925-458: Is sometimes done on a per- market basis. For example, in Atlanta both WNNX and later WWWQ are licensed to "WNNX LiCo, Inc." (LiCo meaning "license company"), both owned by Susquehanna Radio (which was later sold to Cumulus Media ). In determining caps to prevent excessive concentration of media ownership , all of these are attributed to the parent company, as are leased stations , as
3042-523: Is the vast London commuter belt . Greater London is split for some purposes into Inner London and Outer London , and by the River Thames into North and South , with an informal central London area. The coordinates of the nominal centre of London, traditionally the original Eleanor Cross at Charing Cross near the junction of Trafalgar Square and Whitehall , are about 51°30′26″N 00°07′39″W / 51.50722°N 0.12750°W / 51.50722; -0.12750 . Within London, both
3159-599: Is then known as a " wholly owned subsidiary ". London London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom , with a population of 8,866,180 in 2022. The wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe , with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Thames in southeast England, at the head of a 50-mile (80 km) estuary down to
3276-428: Is to own stock of other companies to form a corporate group . In some jurisdictions around the world, holding companies are called parent companies , which, besides holding stock in other companies, can conduct trade and other business activities themselves. Holding companies reduce risk for the shareholders , and can permit the ownership and control of a number of different companies. The New York Times uses
3393-517: The 2012 Summer Olympics . London is an ancient name, attested in the first century AD, usually in the Latinised form Londinium . Modern scientific analyses of the name must account for the origins of the different forms found in early sources: Latin (usually Londinium ), Old English (usually Lunden ), and Welsh (usually Llundein ), with reference to the known developments over time of sounds in those different languages. It
3510-540: The Black Death in the mid-14th century, London lost nearly a third of its population. London was the focus of the Peasants' Revolt in 1381. London was a centre of England's Jewish population before their expulsion by Edward I in 1290. Violence against Jews occurred in 1190, when it was rumoured that the new king had ordered their massacre after they had presented themselves at his coronation. In 1264 during
3627-589: The Canary Wharf development. This was born out of London's increasing role as an international financial centre in the 1980s. Located about 2 miles (3 km) east of central London, the Thames Barrier was completed in the 1980s to protect London against tidal surges from the North Sea . The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986, leaving London with no central administration until 2000 and
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3744-480: The Companies Act 2006 at section 1159. It defines a holding company as a company that holds a majority of the voting rights in another company, or is a member of another company and has the right to appoint or remove a majority of its board of directors, or is a member of another company and controls alone, pursuant to an agreement with other members, a majority of the voting rights in that company. After
3861-672: The Corn Laws in 1846 was specifically aimed at weakening Dutch economic power. London then overtook Amsterdam as the leading international financial centre. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, an unprecedented growth in urbanisation took place, and the number of High Streets (the primary street for retail in Britain) rapidly grew. London was the world's largest city from about 1831 to 1925 , with
3978-568: The Georgian era , new districts such as Mayfair were formed in the west; new bridges over the Thames encouraged development in South London . In the east, the Port of London expanded downstream. London's development as an international financial centre matured for much of the 18th century. In 1762, George III acquired Buckingham House , which was enlarged over the next 75 years. During
4095-634: The King's Road , Chelsea and Carnaby Street . The role of trendsetter revived in the punk era. In 1965 London's political boundaries were expanded in response to the growth of the urban area and a new Greater London Council was created. During The Troubles in Northern Ireland, London was hit from 1973 by bomb attacks by the Provisional Irish Republican Army . These attacks lasted for two decades, starting with
4212-627: The London Ambulance Service (LAS) NHS Trust , the largest free-at-the-point-of-use emergency ambulance service in the world. The London Air Ambulance charity operates in conjunction with the LAS where required. Her Majesty's Coastguard and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution operate on the River Thames , which is under the jurisdiction of the Port of London Authority from Teddington Lock to
4329-782: The Mediterranean was normally through Antwerp and over the Alps ; any ships passing through the Strait of Gibraltar to or from England were likely to be Italian or Ragusan . The reopening of the Netherlands to English shipping in January 1565 spurred a burst of commercial activity. The Royal Exchange was founded. Mercantilism grew and monopoly traders such as the East India Company were founded as trade expanded to
4446-613: The New Model Army entered London in 1647, and they were levelled by Parliament the same year. London was plagued by disease in the early 17th century, culminating in the Great Plague of 1665–1666, which killed up to 100,000 people, or a fifth of the population. The Great Fire of London broke out in 1666 in Pudding Lane in the city and quickly swept through the wooden buildings. Rebuilding took over ten years and
4563-564: The New World . London became the main North Sea port, with migrants arriving from England and abroad. The population rose from about 50,000 in 1530 to about 225,000 in 1605. In the 16th century, William Shakespeare and his contemporaries lived in London during English Renaissance theatre . Shakespeare's Globe Theatre was constructed in 1599 in Southwark . Stage performances came to a halt in London when Puritan authorities shut down
4680-520: The North Sea , and has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years. Its ancient core and financial centre , the City of London , was founded by the Romans as Londinium and has retained its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster , to the west of the City of London, has been the centuries-long host of the national government and parliament . London grew rapidly in the 19th century , becoming
4797-612: The Old Bailey bombing . Racial inequality was highlighted by the 1981 Brixton riot . Greater London's population declined in the decades after the Second World War, from an estimated peak of 8.6 million in 1939 to around 6.8 million in the 1980s. The principal ports for London moved downstream to Felixstowe and Tilbury , with the London Docklands area becoming a focus for regeneration, including
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4914-662: The Second Barons' War , Simon de Montfort 's rebels killed 500 Jews while attempting to seize records of debts. During the Tudor period , the Reformation produced a gradual shift to Protestantism . Much of London property passed from church to private ownership, which accelerated trade and business in the city. In 1475, the Hanseatic League set up a main trading base ( kontor ) of England in London, called
5031-585: The Stalhof or Steelyard . It remained until 1853, when the Hanseatic cities of Lübeck , Bremen and Hamburg sold the property to South Eastern Railway . Woollen cloth was shipped undyed and undressed from 14th/15th century London to the nearby shores of the Low Countries . Yet English maritime enterprise hardly reached beyond the seas of north-west Europe . The commercial route to Italy and
5148-547: The Thames , its primary geographical feature, a navigable river which crosses the city from the south-west to the east. The Thames Valley is a flood plain surrounded by gently rolling hills including Parliament Hill , Addington Hills , and Primrose Hill . Historically London grew up at the lowest bridging point on the Thames. The Thames was once a much broader, shallower river with extensive marshlands ; at high tide, its shores reached five times their present width. Since
5265-660: The Tower of London ; the site featuring the Palace of Westminster , Church of St. Margaret , and Westminster Abbey ; and the historic settlement in Greenwich where the Royal Observatory defines the prime meridian (0° longitude ) and Greenwich Mean Time . Other landmarks include Buckingham Palace , the London Eye , Piccadilly Circus , St Paul's Cathedral , Tower Bridge , and Trafalgar Square . The city has
5382-533: The Victorian era the Thames has been extensively embanked , and many of its London tributaries now flow underground . The Thames is a tidal river, and London is vulnerable to flooding. The threat has increased over time because of a slow but continuous rise in high water level caused by climate change and by the slow 'tilting' of the British Isles as a result of post-glacial rebound . London has
5499-467: The dot-com bubble burst, Gameplay.com faced financial issues, and Nordic Games was sold back to Wingefors in May 2001 for a symbolic sum of 1 kr (at the time equivalent to £0.07 ). Wingefors brought in venture capitalists and reformed the company to only sell newly released games, but the company faced strong competition and finally filed for bankruptcy in 2004. Wingefors invested the money he had left into
5616-632: The financial crisis of 2007–2008 , many U.S. investment banks converted to holding companies. According to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council 's website, JPMorgan Chase , Bank of America , Citigroup , Wells Fargo , and Goldman Sachs were the five largest bank holding companies in the finance sector, as of December 2013 , based on total assets. The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 caused many energy companies to divest their subsidiary businesses. Between 1938 and 1958
5733-569: The 11th century, London was clearly the largest town in England. Westminster Abbey , rebuilt in Romanesque style by King Edward the Confessor , was one of the grandest churches in Europe. Winchester had been the capital of Anglo-Saxon England , but from this time London became the main forum for foreign traders and the base for defence in time of war. In the view of Frank Stenton : "It had
5850-502: The 18th century, London was said to be dogged by crime, and the Bow Street Runners were established in 1750 as a professional police force. Epidemics during the 1720s and 30s saw most children born in the city die before reaching their fifth birthday. Coffee-houses became a popular place to debate ideas, as growing literacy and development of the printing press made news widely available, with Fleet Street becoming
5967-420: The City of London and the City of Westminster have city status . The City of London and the remainder of Greater London are both counties for the purposes of lieutenancies . The area of Greater London includes areas that are part of the historic counties of Middlesex , Kent , Surrey , Essex and Hertfordshire . More recently, Greater London has been defined as a region of England and in this context
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#17327937022466084-603: The London area. This called for the Corporation of the city to extend its jurisdiction and administration over expanding areas around the city. Fearing an attempt by the Crown to diminish the Liberties of London , coupled with a lack of interest in administering these additional areas or concern by city guilds of having to share power, caused the Corporation's "The Great Refusal", a decision which largely continues to account for
6201-409: The Thames. Despite the evidence of scattered Brythonic settlements in the area, the first major settlement was founded by the Romans around 47 AD, about four years after their invasion of 43 AD. This only lasted until about 61 AD, when the Iceni tribe led by Queen Boudica stormed it and burnt it to the ground. The next planned incarnation of Londinium prospered, superseding Colchester as
6318-415: The United Kingdom's population and over 16% of England's population. The Greater London Built-up Area is the fourth-most populous in Europe, with about 9.8 million inhabitants as of 2011. The London metropolitan area is the third-most populous in Europe, with about 14 million inhabitants as of 2016, making London a megacity . Four World Heritage Sites are located in London: Kew Gardens ;
6435-455: The United Kingdom, is generally held that an organisation holding a 'controlling stake' in a company (a holding of over 51% of the stock) is in effect the de facto parent company of the firm, having overriding material influence over the held company's operations, even if no formal full takeover has been enacted. Once a full takeover or purchase is enacted, the held company is seen to have ceased to operate as an independent entity but to have become
6552-405: The Viking incursions formally agreed by the Danish warlord , Guthrum and the West Saxon king Alfred the Great in 886. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Alfred "refounded" London in 886. Archaeological research shows this involved abandonment of Lundenwic and a revival of life and trade within the old Roman walls . London then grew slowly until a dramatic increase in about 950. By
6669-548: The Year. In February 2019, THQ Nordic issued 11 million new Class B shares and raised 2.09 billion kr. At the end of its first fiscal quarter of 2019, THQ Nordic bought Game Outlet Europe for 10 million kr from Nordic Games Group, which was still majority-owned by Wingefors. THQ Nordic then bought the investment arm of Goodbye Kansas, Goodbye Kansas Game Invest (GKGI), and its investments in five startup developers—Palindrome Interactive, Fall Damage, Neon Giant, Kavalri Games and Framebunker—for 42.4 million kr. GKGI
6786-436: The allegedly wrongful activity of their foreign subsidiaries means that the corporate veil is no longer a silver bullet to the heart of a plaintiff's case." The parent subsidiary company relationship is defined by Part 1, Section 5, Subsection 1 of the Companies Act, which states: 5.—(1) For the purposes of this Act, a corporation shall, subject to subsection (3), be deemed to be a subsidiary of another corporation, if — In
6903-421: The bankrupt publisher JoWooD and established Nordic Games GmbH (a subsidiary of Nordic Games Licensing) to manage them. Nordic Games Licensing continued to purchase intellectual property from defunct publishers, notably several THQ products in 2013, followed by the "THQ" trademark in 2014. In August 2016, Nordic Games Licensing and Nordic Games GmbH changed their names to THQ Nordic. The parent company became
7020-437: The centre of the British press. The invasion of Amsterdam by Napoleonic armies led many financiers to relocate to London and the first London international issue was arranged in 1817. Around the same time, the Royal Navy became the world's leading war fleet, acting as a major deterrent to potential economic adversaries. Following a fire in 1838, the Royal Exchange was redesigned by William Tite and rebuilt in 1844. The repeal of
7137-402: The chief executive officer of THQ Nordic, the large number of acquisitions represented a portfolio diversification that contrasted the reliance of larger publishers like Electronic Arts on a few keystone titles. Embracer Group announced three major acquisitions in February 2021: Gearbox Entertainment (including Gearbox Software ) for $ 1.3 billion and Easybrain for $ 640 million as
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#17327937022467254-425: The city's metropolis. The City of London at its core once comprised the whole settlement, but as its urban area grew, the Corporation of London resisted attempts to amalgamate the city with its suburbs , causing "London" to be defined several ways. Forty per cent of Greater London is covered by the London post town , in which 'London' forms part of postal addresses. The London telephone area code (020) covers
7371-412: The city, to intimidate the inhabitants. In 1097, William II began building Westminster Hall , near the abbey. It became the basis of a new Palace of Westminster . In the 12th century, the institutions of central government, which had hitherto followed the royal English court around the country, grew in size and sophistication and became increasingly fixed, for most purposes at Westminster , although
7488-443: The combined revenue expenditure by London councils and the GLA amounted to just over £22 billion (£14.7 billion for the boroughs and £7.4 billion for the GLA). The London Fire Brigade is the statutory fire and rescue service for Greater London, run by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority . It is the third largest fire service in the world. National Health Service ambulance services are provided by
7605-461: The company announced that a $ 2 billion investment deal, which had been verbally agreed on in October 2022, had unexpectedly failed to materialise as the investing partner walked away from the deal after protracted negotiations. Shortly following the announcement, the company's shares fell by 40%. According to Axios , this partner was Savvy Games Group. Embracer Group consequently announced in June 2023 that it would immediately begin implementing
7722-416: The company generated 5 million kr in revenue. With growing income throughout the 1990s, Nordic Games was turned into a retail chain and opened seven locations across Sweden. The company also acquired the store Spel- & Tele shopen in Linköping that Pelle Lundborg had opened four years earlier. Towards the end of the 1990s, Nordic Games was suffering from a poor corporate structure. Although Wingefors
7839-419: The company had also purchased 34BigThings, Mad Head Games , Nimble Giant Entertainment , Sandbox Strategies, Snapshot Games and Zen Studios via Saber Interactive, A Thinking Ape Entertainment and IUGO Mobile Entertainment via Deca Games, Flying Wild Hog via Koch Media, Purple Lamp Studios via THQ Nordic, Silent Games via Amplifier Game Invest, as well as Quantic Lab directly. According to Klemens Kreuzer,
7956-503: The company had reduced its debt from $ 2 billion to $ 1.5 billion , though warned that further layoffs and studio closures were likely. In February 2024, it was reported that Embracer Group was finalising the sales of Saber Interactive and Gearbox Entertainment. The sale of Saber Interactive was announced in March 2024. Beacon Interactive, a company owned by Saber Interactive's co-founder Matthew Karch, bought Saber Interactive for $ 247 million alongside its satellite studios and
8073-512: The company projected a turnover of 200 million kr, while at the same time, Lundborg was looking for new investors to make the company independent of Game Outlet Europe. By March 2011, Nordic Games Holding had been established as a holding company , with Game Outlet Europe and Nordic Games Publishing aligned as its subsidiaries. In June 2011, Nordic Games Holding acquired the assets of the insolvent publisher JoWooD and its subsidiaries. The acquired assets were transferred to Nordic Games GmbH ,
8190-500: The creation of the Greater London Authority . To mark the 21st century, the Millennium Dome , London Eye and Millennium Bridge were constructed. On 6 July 2005 London was awarded the 2012 Summer Olympics , as the first city to stage the Olympic Games three times. On 7 July 2005, three London Underground trains and a double-decker bus were bombed in a series of terrorist attacks . In 2008, Time named London alongside New York City and Hong Kong as Nylonkong , hailing them as
8307-419: The creation of the London Underground , the world's first urban rail network . The Metropolitan Board of Works oversaw infrastructure expansion in the capital and some surrounding counties; it was abolished in 1889 when the London County Council was created out of county areas surrounding the capital. From the early years of the 20th century onwards, teashops were found on High Streets across London and
8424-420: The development of games that would fill gaps in the video game market. Wingefors and Lundborg had noticed that the line-up of games for Nintendo platforms was lacking karaoke games similar to SingStar , which was exclusive to PlayStation consoles. Based on 100-page requirement documents from Nintendo, which included that the game's microphones should be produced by Logitech , and four months of research at
8541-713: The driest is 1921, with a total fall of 12.1 inches (308 mm). The average annual precipitation amounts to about 600mm, which is half the annual rainfall of New York City . Despite relatively low annual precipitation, London receives 109.6 rainy days on the 1.0mm threshold annually. London is vulnerable to climate change , and there is concern among hydrological experts that households may run out of water before 2050. Temperature extremes in London range from 40.2 °C (104.4 °F) at Heathrow on 19 July 2022 down to −17.4 °C (0.7 °F) at Northolt on 13 December 1981. Records for atmospheric pressure have been kept at London since 1692. The highest pressure ever reported
8658-609: The first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital. The mayor's statutory planning strategy is published as the London Plan , which was most recently revised in 2011. The local authorities are the councils of the 32 London boroughs and the City of London Corporation . They are responsible for most local services, such as local planning, schools, libraries, leisure and recreation, social services , local roads and refuse collection. Certain functions, such as waste management , are provided through joint arrangements. In 2009–2010
8775-465: The future, but this option was cancelled on September 13, 2024. The divestiture also comprised 2,950 employees (21% of Embracer Group's workforce), including all staff in Russia. According to Jason Schreier of Bloomberg News , Beacon Interactive plans to exercise its option for a combined purchase price of $ 500 million . In March 2024, Take-Two Interactive acquired Gearbox Entertainment, which
8892-711: The future. In June 2018, the company issued 7.7 million new Class B shares to raise US$ 168 million for future acquisitions. The company bought the Coffee Stain group, including houses developer Coffee Stain Studios , for 317 million kr in cash. Coffee Stain became THQ Nordic's "third leg", operating independently like Koch Media. Through the two acquisitions and continued sales from THQ Nordic GmbH, THQ Nordic's net sales rose by 713%, to $ 447.6 million , in its 2018 fiscal year . In December 2018, GamesIndustry.biz named Wingefors as one of their People of
9009-644: The highest-ranked academic institutions in the world: Imperial College London in natural and applied sciences , the London School of Economics in social sciences , and the comprehensive University College London . It is the most visited city in Europe and has the world's busiest city airport system . The London Underground is the world's oldest rapid transit system. London's diverse cultures encompass over 300 languages. The 2023 population of Greater London of just under 10 million made it Europe's third-most populous city , accounting for 13.4% of
9126-640: The location of its original headquarters in a road called Great Scotland Yard in Whitehall. The City of London has its own police force – the City of London Police . First worn by Met police officers in 1863, the custodian helmet has been called a "cultural icon" and a "symbol of British law enforcement". Introduced by the Met in 1929, the blue police telephone box (basis for the TARDIS in Doctor Who )
9243-458: The mayor's budget proposals each year. The GLA has responsibility for the majority of London's transport system through its functional arm Transport for London (TfL), it is responsible for overseeing the city's police and fire services, and also for setting a strategic vision for London on a range of issues. The headquarters of the GLA is City Hall , Newham. The mayor since 2016 has been Sadiq Khan ,
9360-753: The most museums , art galleries, libraries, and cultural venues in the UK, including the British Museum , National Gallery , Natural History Museum , Tate Modern , British Library , and numerous West End theatres. Important sporting events held in London include the FA Cup Final , the Wimbledon Tennis Championships , and the London Marathon . It became the first city to host three Summer Olympic Games upon hosting
9477-675: The most diverse cities in the world. In 1951, the Festival of Britain was held on the South Bank . The Great Smog of 1952 led to the Clean Air Act 1956 , which ended the " pea soup fogs " for which London had been notorious, and had earned it the nickname the "Big Smoke". Starting mainly in the mid-1960s, London became a centre for worldwide youth culture , exemplified by the Swinging London sub-culture associated with
9594-500: The name change was undergone to capitalise on the good reputation of THQ's past, although they avoided naming the companies just "THQ" to avoid connections to the bankrupt publisher's more recent troubled history. THQ Nordic undertook its initial public offering on 22 November 2016 and became a public company listed on the Nasdaq First North stock exchange, being valuated at 1.9 billion kr, while Wingefors retained
9711-646: The newly purchased Bitwave Games, Clear River Games, Gioteck, and Tatsujin. The latter was subsequently expanded with the acquisitions of Limited Run Games , Singtrix, and Middle-earth Enterprises , which owns the media rights for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit . Savvy Gaming Group (later Savvy Games Group ), a company wholly owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund , invested about $ 1 billion into Embracer Group in June 2022, gaining an 8.1% stake. Embracer Group transitioned from Nasdaq First North to Nasdaq Stockholm on 22 December 2022. In May 2023,
9828-438: The next two years. The "Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends", a placeholder name and the legal successor to Embracer Group, will be used for triple-A game development and publishing for its major IP properties, and will include Crystal Dynamics, Dambuster, Eidos Montreal, Flying Wild Hog, Tripwire, Vertigo Games, Warhorse Studios and 4A Games, as well as publishers Plaion, Dark Horse Comics, and Freemode. The Asmodee Group will be
9945-647: The next two years: a board game segment under the Asmodee group, an indie games segment under Coffee Stain Publishing, and a segment to manage its library of licensed intellectual properties include that of Tolkien's Middle Earth . The Swedish entrepreneur Lars Wingefors started several sales businesses during his teenage years, including the second-hand comic book seller LW Comics at age 13, which made close to 300,000 kr annually. At age 16, Wingefors founded Nordic Games to sell used video games. In its first year,
10062-571: The number of holding companies declined from 216 to 18. An energy law passed in 2005 removed the 1935 requirements, and has led to mergers and holding company formation among power marketing and power brokering companies. In US broadcasting , many major media conglomerates have purchased smaller broadcasters outright, but have not changed the broadcast licenses to reflect this, resulting in stations that are (for example) still licensed to Jacor and Citicasters , effectively making them such as subsidiary companies of their owner iHeartMedia . This
10179-467: The old Roman city. By about 680 the city had become a major port again, but there is little evidence of large-scale production. From the 820s repeated Viking assaults brought decline. Three are recorded; those in 851 and 886 succeeded, while the last, in 994, was rebuffed. The Vikings applied Danelaw over much of eastern and northern England, its boundary running roughly from London to Chester as an area of political and geographical control imposed by
10296-473: The parent company of Nordic Games GmbH. In April 2013, Nordic Games Licensing bought several assets of the bankrupt publisher THQ to be managed by Nordic Games GmbH. It obtained the "THQ" trademark in June 2014, intending to use the name as a publishing label for its THQ properties. Subsequently, in August 2016, the company changed its name to THQ Nordic, while Nordic Games GmbH became THQ Nordic GmbH. According to Wingefors and THQ Nordic GmbH's Reinhard Pollice,
10413-490: The principal city of the Roman province of Britannia in 100. At its height in the 2nd century, Roman London had a population of about 60,000. With the early 5th-century collapse of Roman rule, the walled city of Londinium was effectively abandoned, although Roman civilisation continued around St Martin-in-the-Fields until about 450. From about 500, an Anglo-Saxon settlement known as Lundenwic developed slightly west of
10530-405: The publisher of board and card games from Asmodee and its studios. "Coffee Stain & Friends", a placeholder name, will include the indie game publishers and studios, including Coffee Stain, THQ Nordic, Ghost Ship, Tuxedo Labs, Tarsier, and Amplifier Game Invest. The latter two companies are expected to be split off within 2025. Wingefors will own all three companies and remain as the group CEO once
10647-466: The resources, and it was rapidly developing the dignity and the political self-consciousness appropriate to a national capital ." After winning the Battle of Hastings , William, Duke of Normandy was crowned King of England in newly completed Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066. William built the Tower of London , the first of many such in England rebuilt in stone in the south-eastern corner of
10764-641: The rest of Britain, with Lyons , who opened the first of their chain of teashops in Piccadilly in 1894, leading the way. The tearooms, such as the Criterion in Piccadilly, became a popular meeting place for women from the suffrage movement. The city was the target of many attacks during the suffragette bombing and arson campaign , between 1912 and 1914, which saw historic landmarks such as Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral bombed. London
10881-460: The royal treasury came to rest in the Tower . While the City of Westminster developed into a true governmental capital, its distinct neighbour, the City of London , remained England's largest city and principal commercial centre and flourished under its own unique administration, the Corporation of London . In 1100, its population was some 18,000; by 1300 it had grown to nearly 100,000. With
10998-617: The same month, Embracer Group announced its tenth operative group with the acquisition of Dark Horse Media, the parent company of Dark Horse Comics and Dark Horse Entertainment , and Gearbox Entertainment purchased Perfect World Entertainment , including Cryptic Studios , for $ 125 million . In May 2022, Square Enix and Embracer Group entered into an agreement for the latter to purchase Crystal Dynamics , Eidos-Montréal , and Square Enix Montreal , alongside intellectual properties like Tomb Raider , Deus Ex , Thief , and Legacy of Kain , for $ 300 million . The acquisition
11115-546: The sea. London is the seat of the Government of the United Kingdom . Many government departments, as well as the prime minister's residence at 10 Downing Street , are based close to the Palace of Westminster , particularly along Whitehall . There are 75 members of Parliament (MPs) from London; As of June 2024 , 59 are from the Labour Party , 9 are Conservatives , 6 are Liberal Democrats and one constituency
11232-909: The seventh and eighth operative groups, as well as Aspyr (under Saber Interactive) for $ 450 million . These acquisitions were completed by April 2021. Embracer Group began issuing additional stock in March 2021 and raised another $ 890 million to further its acquisition strategies. That year, the company also bought 3D Realms , Demiurge Studios , Fractured Byte, Slipgate Ironworks and SmartPhone Labs through Saber Interactive, Appeal Studios, Kaiko and Massive Miniteam through THQ Nordic, Frame Break through Amplifier Game Invest, CrazyLabs through Deca Games, Ghost Ship Games and Easy Trigger Games through Coffee Stain, DigixArt through Koch Media, as well as Grimfrost directly. Asmodee , which principally distributed board games, became Embracer Group's ninth operative group for €2.75 billion in December 2021. In
11349-610: The splits are complete. In May 2024, Nintendo announced their acquisition of Shiver Entertainment from Embracer, subject to closing conditions. In June 2024, Embracer closed Alone in the Dark (2024) developer Pieces Interactive following the game's disappointing performance. In July, it was reported that Piranha Bytes was quietly shuttered at the end of June. In November 2024, Embracer said that they had reduced their number of employees from 15,701 to 10,450. That same month, they announced that they would divest Easybrain to Miniclip for
11466-424: The start of 2018 to mid April 2018. Funding cuts to police in London are likely to have contributed to this, though other factors are involved. However, homicide figures fell in 2022 with 109 recorded for the year, and the murder rate in London is much lower than other major cities around the world. London, also known as Greater London , is one of nine regions of England and the top subdivision covering most of
11583-540: The stock of Company B, Company A will not pay taxes on dividends paid by Company B to its stockholders, as the payment of dividends from B to A is essentially transferring cash within a single enterprise. Any other shareholders of Company B will pay the usual taxes on dividends, as they are legitimate and ordinary dividends to these shareholders. Sometimes, a company intended to be a pure holding company identifies itself as such by adding "Holding" or "Holdings" to its name. The parent company–subsidiary company relationship
11700-463: The structuring had led to the loss of 4532 employees, the closure of 44 studios, and cancellation of 80 in-development projects, including new DeusEx , TimeSplitters and Red Faction games. Despite these steps, the company still faced $ 1.5 billion in debt. In April 2024, Embracer Group announced that it would split up into three separate publicly-traded companies on the Swedish stock market within
11817-524: The subsidiaries 3D Realms, Bytex, Digic Pictures , Fractured Byte, Mad Head Games , New World Interactive, Nimble Giant Entertainment, Sandbox Strategies, Slipgate Ironworks, SmartPhone Labs, and Stuntworks. 34BigThings, 4A Games, Aspyr, Beamdog , Demiurge Studios, Shiver Entertainment, Snapshot Games, Tripwire Interactive , Tuxedo Labs , and Zen Studios remained with Embracer Group, to be integrated with other operative groups, although Beacon Interactive received an option to acquire 4A Games and Zen Studios in
11934-511: The term parent holding company . Holding companies can be subsidiaries in a tiered structure . Holding companies are also created to hold assets such as intellectual property or trade secrets , that are protected from the operating company. That creates a smaller risk when it comes to litigation . In the United States, 80% of stock, in voting and value, must be owned before tax consolidation benefits such as tax-free dividends can be claimed. That is, if Company A owns 80% or more of
12051-753: The theatres in the 1640s. The ban on theatre was lifted during the Restoration in 1660, and London's oldest operating theatre, Drury Lane , opened in 1663 in what is now the West End theatre district. By the end of the Tudor period in 1603, London was still compact. There was an assassination attempt on James I in Westminster, in the Gunpowder Plot of 5 November 1605. In 1637, the government of Charles I attempted to reform administration in
12168-715: The unique governmental status of the City . In the English Civil War , the majority of Londoners supported the Parliamentary cause. After an initial advance by the Royalists in 1642, culminating in the battles of Brentford and Turnham Green , London was surrounded by a defensive perimeter wall known as the Lines of Communication . The lines were built by up to 20,000 people, and were completed in under two months. The fortifications failed their only test when
12285-420: The world's largest city at the time . Since the 19th century, the name "London" has referred to the metropolis around the City of London, historically split between the counties of Middlesex , Essex , Surrey , Kent , and Hertfordshire , which since 1965 has largely comprised the administrative area of Greater London , governed by 33 local authorities and the Greater London Authority . As one of
12402-583: The world's major global cities , London exerts a strong influence on world art , entertainment, fashion , commerce, finance, education , healthcare , media , science, technology, tourism , transport , and communications. Despite a post- Brexit exodus of stock listings from the London Stock Exchange , London remains a European economic powerhouse, and one of the world's major financial centres . It hosts Europe's largest concentration of higher education institutions , some of which are
12519-639: The world's three most influential global cities . In January 2015, Greater London's population was estimated to be 8.63 million, its highest since 1939. During the Brexit referendum in 2016, the UK as a whole decided to leave the European Union , but most London constituencies voted for remaining. However, Britain's exit from the EU in early 2020 only marginally weakened London's position as an international financial centre. The administration of London
12636-1078: Was bombed by the Germans in the First World War , and during the Second World War , the Blitz and other bombings by the German Luftwaffe killed over 30,000 Londoners, destroying large tracts of housing and other buildings across the city. The tomb of the Unknown Warrior , an unidentified member of the British armed forces killed during the First World War, was buried in Westminster Abbey on 11 November 1920. The Cenotaph , located in Whitehall ,
12753-439: Was asked to either seek new partners or bring in venture capital , he opted to sell the company to Gameplay Stockholm, the Swedish subsidiary of Europe-wide retailer Gameplay.com , in March 2000 for stock valued at £5.96 million . Under Gameplay.com, Nordic Games failed to generate much revenue. It tried to establish mobile game , digital distribution and cable TV box businesses, all of which did not gain traction. When
12870-492: Was closed by August 2022 and the assets transferred to CDE Entertainment. Square Enix Montréal was briefly rebranded as Onoma but closed in November 2022 in a cost reduction measure. Additionally, Embracer Group created the Embracer Group Archive video game preservation effort in May and established its eleventh operative group, Freemode, from C77 Entertainment, Game Outlet Europe, Grimfrost, Quantic Lab, and
12987-570: Was established as the video game publishing subsidiary of Game Outlet Europe. The subsidiary started out with seven people, including primary shareholder Wingefors, based in Karlstad, and chief executive officer Lundborg, who had since moved to Málaga with his wife. Nik Blower in London was added to the management team in February 2010. The idea behind Nordic Games Publishing was to invest in
13104-690: Was later rebranded Amplifier Game Invest to reflect its new ownership. To avoid further confusion with THQ Nordic GmbH and clarify its position as a holding company, THQ Nordic assumed the name "Embracer Group" at its annual general meeting on 17 September 2019, while the branch in Vienna retained its name. In the following months, Embracer made several acquisitions and openings: Amplifier Game Invest bought Tarsier Studios for 99 million kr. in December 2019 and opened River End Games and C77 Entertainment in January 2020. Embracer Group acquired Saber Interactive and its five satellite studios in February 2020 for
13221-508: Was moved under the 2K label. After the sale closed, Gearbox Entertainment retained Gearbox Software, Gearbox Publishing, Gearbox Studio Montreal, Gearbox Studio Quebec, Gearbox Properties and the Borderlands , Homeworld , Risk of Rain , Brothers in Arms and Duke Nukem franchises, while Embracer Group retained Gearbox Publishing San Francisco (including Gearbox Shanghai), which
13338-437: Was once a common sight throughout London and regional cities in the UK. The British Transport Police are responsible for police services on National Rail , London Underground , Docklands Light Railway and Tramlink services. The Ministry of Defence Police is a special police force in London, which does not generally become involved with policing the general public. The UK's domestic counter-intelligence service ( MI5 )
13455-469: Was renamed Arc Games; Cryptic Studios ; Lost Boys Interactive; and Captured Dimensions alongside several titles. Retained companies were integrated into other parts of Embracer Group. With the sale of Gearbox, Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors stated that the company restructuring was complete, and had no short term plans to restart mergers or acquisitions, instead focusing on "simply making better products and games" to improve cash flow. From June 2023 to May 2024,
13572-465: Was supervised by polymath Robert Hooke . In 1710, Christopher Wren 's masterpiece, St Paul's Cathedral , was completed, replacing its medieval predecessor that burned in the Great Fire of 1666. The dome of St Paul's dominated the London skyline for centuries, inspiring the artworks and writing of William Blake , with his 1789 poem " Holy Thursday " referring to 'the high dome of Pauls'. During
13689-524: Was unveiled on the same day, and is the focal point for the National Service of Remembrance held annually on Remembrance Sunday , the closest Sunday to 11 November. The 1948 Summer Olympics were held at the original Wembley Stadium , while London was still recovering from the war. From the 1940s, London became home to many immigrants, primarily from Commonwealth countries such as Jamaica, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, making London one of
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