THQ dissolved, assets auctioned

[Kaotik]

To All THQ Employees:

We now have the answers we've been seeking through our financial restructuring and
Chapter 11 case. While much will be written, here are the facts of the bids and auction
that occurred t:

Yesterday morning, we received a competing bid for the operating business,
along with Clearlake's offer, and numerous offers for separate assets.
During an auction process that lasted over 22 hours, the final conclusion was
that the separate-asset bids would net more than a single buyer for the majority
of the company.
Shortly, we will, present the results to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, which must
concur with our assessment.

The proposed sales of multiple assets is as follows :
Sega agreed to purchase Relic
Koch Media agreed to purchase Volition and Metro
Crytek agreed to purchase Homefront
Take 2 agreed purchase Evolve and
Ubisoft agreed to purchase Montreal and South Park
We expect these sales to close this week.

Some assets, including our publishing businesses and Vigil, along with some other
intellectual properties are not included in the sale agreements. They will remain part of
the Chapter 11 case. We will make every effort to find appropriate buyers, if possible.

What this means for employees

We expect that most employees of the entities included in the sale will be offered
employment by the new owners. However, we cannot say what these owners may
intend, and there will likely be some positions that will not be needed under the
new ownership. You should receive notice this week or early next week if the new
owners intend to extend employment to you. Please note that the terms of your new
employment, including pay and benefits, may be different from the current terms of
your employment with THQ.

If you are an employee of an entity that is not included in the sale, we regret that
your position will end. A small number of our headquarters staff will continue to be
employed by THQ beyond January 25 to assist with the transition. THQ has sufficient
resources to pay these employees for work going forward, and we will be contacting
these employees immediately to ensure their continued employment during this
transition period. We are requesting the ability to offer certain severance pay to
minimize disruption for employees of non-included entities as they determine the next
steps in their careers.

We know you will have many questions about this news. We'll be meeting tomorrow
when we return to talk through this announcement and to answer any questions you
have. You will receive a benefits fact sheet and FAQs with answers to some questions
that may be on your mind. Please review these materials closely.

A personal note

The work that you all have done as part of the THQ family is imaginative, creative,
artistic and highly valued by our loyal gamers. We are proud of what we have
accomplished despite today's outcome.

It has been our privilege to work alongside the entire THQ team. While the company
will cease to exist, we are heartened that the majority of our studios and games will
continue under new ownership. We were hoping that the entire company would remain
intact, but we expect to hear good news from each of the separate entities that will be
operating as part of new organizations.

For those THQ employees who are part of entities that are not included in the sale, we
are confident that the talent you have displayed as part of THQ will be recognized as you
take the next steps in your career.

Thank you all for your dedication and for sharing your talent with the THQ team. We
wish you the best of luck and hope you will keep in touch.

Sincerely,

Brian Farrell
Chief Executive Officer

Jason Rubin
President

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=509654

THQ auction results
: 26M for Relic (Sega), 2.5M for Montreal (Ubisoft), 11M for Evolve (Take-Two), 22.3M for Volition (Koch Media)...

500k Homeland [sic] (Crytek), 5.8M for Metro (Koch Media), South Park for 3.2M (Ubisoft)

Originally Posted by Kotaku:

Relic Entertainment
Makers of Company of Heroes
Winning bidder: Sega, $26.6 million.
Runner-up: Zenimax Media, $26.3 million.

THQ Montreal
Makers of 1666 and Underdog, titles under development.
Winning bidder: Ubisoft, $2.5 million. No runner-up.

Evolve
(title in development at Turtle Rock Studios)
Winning bidder: Take-Two Interactive, $10.894 million.
Runner-up: Turtle Rock Studios, $250,000.

Volition, Inc.
Maker of Saints Row
Winning bidder: Koch Media, $22,312,925.
Runner-up: Ubisoft, $5.4 million.

Homefront
Released 2011; due for a sequel.
Winning bidder: Crytek. $544,218.
No runner-up.

Metro
Series; due for the sequel Metro: Last Light.
Winning Bidder: Koch Media, $5,877,551
Runner-up: Ubisoft: $5.175 million.

South Park
License; South Park: The Stick of Truth is due for release March 5.
Winning bidder: Ubisoft, $3,265,306
No runner-up.

Glad to see there's no EA there, not that Ubi is much better.

Also, the South Park -case might still be a bit in the air, as the rights owner claims that THQ's license can't be sold even if the company goes under

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Ugh on Sega getting Relic. I don't have much faith in Sega as a good publisher of RTS content. Would much rather have seen UBIsoft or even Zenimax, although I don't have much faith in Zenimax either.

And that's too bad about Vigil (Darksiders) having no buyers. I'm rather surprised by this. I would have thought that someone at least would have offered something even if it was a low ball number.

Regards,
SB

 

[DieH@rd]

Ugh on Sega getting Relic. I don't have much faith in Sega as a good publisher of RTS content.

SEGA owns Creative Assemly, creators of the widely popular Total War RTS franchise on PC. They will not let Relic go to waste with their CoH franchise.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

SEGA owns Creative Assemly, creators of the widely popular Total War RTS franchise on PC. They will not let Relic go to waste with their CoH franchise.

I don't care about the CoH franchise nearly as much as the Warhammer 40k RTS franchise. That's not to say I don't like CoH, I do...just not as much as 40k. And CoH 2 is basically done so there isn't much SEGA can do to muck it up.

Now if SEGA allows Relic to make a proper Homeworld 3...I'd certainly cheer them for it.

Regards,
SB

 

[Zaphod]

No IP or franchises other than those under active development were sold off now. I.e. those things that needed to get handled ASAP or they'd rapidly loose value.

So no Homeworld with Relic or Red Faction with Volition.

THQ (i.e. their creditors) can leave the dormant stuff for later to try to maximize their value.

 

[Kaotik]

No IP or franchises other than those under active development were sold off now. I.e. those things that needed to get handled ASAP or they'd rapidly loose value.

So no Homeworld with Relic or Red Faction with Volition.

THQ (i.e. their creditors) can leave the dormant stuff for later to try to maximize their value.

Did THQ own the Homeworld IP, or Relic? Since Sega got Relic, not just the publishing rights to whatever they're now developing if I understood it correctly?

 

[Zaphod]

What was sold was basically everything needed to develop and market the Company of Heroes-franchise specifically. There's a list of assets linked up on GAF and other places. The language used makes it pretty clear that everything else remains with the corpse of THQ (for the time being).

Edit:

THQ lawyer Jeffrey C. Krauss presented the seven asset groupings that were at auction. "Those pieces do not include some of the assets," he said. This process leaves THQ with its physical inventory, accounts receivable, its entire back catalog of games and brands, and its cash on hand. That, together, is estimated to be approximately $29 million.

Another edit: But come to think about it, wouldn't the Homeworld IP most likely be locked up in an Activision basement somewhere (having originally been published by Sierra)?

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Another edit: But come to think about it, wouldn't the Homeworld IP most likely be locked up in an Activision basement somewhere (having originally been published by Sierra)?

That's one of the major problems with getting another Homeworld developed. The same as it is for getting a proper sequel to Star Control 2. Many of the old classics have rather convoluted IP ownership messes.\

It's also why the kickstarter for the Dungeon Keeper sequel can't actually be called Dungeon Keeper.

Regards,
SB

 

[Davros]

Did THQ own the Homeworld IP,

Indie Dev Seeks Homeworld IP

SaveHomeworld.com is a new campaign looking to crowdsource funding to acquire the Homeworld IP, as the highly regarded space-based RTS series was apparently not one of the assets SEGA picked up when they bought developer Relic from THQ (thanks VG247). The site was launched by startup indie developer teamPixel,
http://www.indiegogo.com/save-homeworld

ps: goals
$100,000 - We'll release Homeworld, Homeworld: Cataclysm, and Homeworld 2 on GoG.com and Steam for free. FREE! This means no one else on the planet will have an excuse for never having played the series!

 

[Silent_Buddha]

You know there's also another possibility.

Relic were also working on an as yet unannounced game with the codename: Atlas.

There's a chance that either refers to another Warhammer 40k game or less likely, a potential Homeworld title.

I'm not sure whether the Atlas property was also included with the sale of Relic Entertainment to SEGA. If it was a Warhammer 40k title then chances are it was. As Games Workshop were objecting to the sale until they got a chance to discuss things with SEGA.

Regards,
SB