WAYZATA, Minn., Oct. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Northern Pacific Group (“NPG”) today announced the closing of the sale of Pipeworks, Inc. (“Pipeworks”) to Sumo Group (“Sumo”) for an announced transaction value of up to $99.5 million. 

Headquartered in Eugene, OR, Pipeworks is an interactive development studio specializing in advanced consumer and commercial games for a diverse community of partners, including top-tier gaming publishers and Fortune 1000 companies.  Pipeworks produces world-class games, transformational digital solutions, original IP, advanced extended reality, and artificial intelligence-driven stimulations across a variety of industries, technologies, and platforms. 

Northern Pacific Group, in partnership with DGB Investments and St. Cloud Capital, acquired Pipeworks from Digital Bros, an Italian public company, in February 2018. Since the acquisition, the investment group has worked alongside management to effect operational improvements and drive customer relationships which transformed the studio into an even stronger player in the industry. 

The sale of Pipeworks to Sumo marks an early exit for Northern Pacific Group. In addition, the investor group will continue to own Metateq, the wholly-owned subsidiary focused on government and public sector partners, which was spun-out to existing shareholders ahead of the Sumo transaction.

Marcy Haymaker, Partner at Northern Pacific Group said, “We have been very pleased with our partnership with Pipeworks and are thrilled to see the company move to its next chapter as a division of Sumo. We wish Lindsay and the entire team at Pipeworks the very best and look forward to being shareholders of the combined business.”

Lindsay Gupton, Chief Executive Officer of Pipeworks, added, “The relationship with Northern Pacific Group has truly been a partnership. Not only did we benefit from NPG’s backing of our management team in the buyout from Digital Bros, but they have been instrumental in helping us drive the strategic direction of the business. We are very excited about this remarkable next step in the evolution of Pipeworks.” 

Jefferies Financial Group acted as the sole financial advisor to the Pipeworks investor group in this transaction. Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP served as legal counsel to the investor group.

About Northern Pacific Group: Northern Pacific Group is a Wayzata, Minnesota-based private equity firm investing in growing businesses that serve enterprise customers.  Northern Pacific Group seeks to drive collaborative achievement at portfolio companies in partnership with ownership groups and management teams. For more information, please visit www.northernpacificgroup.com.  

About Pipeworks: Pipeworks is an imagination-driven development studio armed with a mastery of cutting-edge technology and a deep understanding of the player experience. They are leaders in the realm of Cloud Gaming, Radical AI, Interactive Streaming, Transformational Experiences and more. Their teams are creating original IP games alongside the on-going work with key game franchises and outside partners. Pipeworks believes in creating innovative and unique games that harness the creative spark of their teams and embrace the power of players and community.

About Sumo Group: Sumo Group’s businesses provide acclaimed development and design services to the video games and entertainment industries from studios in the UK, India, and Canada. Sumo Digital, as the Group’s primary business, is one of the UK’s largest independent developers of AAA-rated video games and provides turnkey and co-development solutions to a global blue-chip client base.

For more information, please contact:

Northern Pacific Group
Marcy Haymaker
952-456-5300
info@northernpacificgroup.com

Pipeworks (US)
Beth Llewelyn 
Zebra Partners
206-249-ZPRT
beth@zebrapartners.net

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SOURCE Northern Pacific Group