More Guitar Hero M&A Activity

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More Guitar Hero M&A Activity

Earlier this year Activistion paid ~$100mm for Red Octane, the distributor of Guitar Hero and other video games.

When I first got into Guitar Hero, my friend Brad Feld told me that a company called Harmonix in Boston, which Brad is a small angel investor in, actually makes the game. So I wondered if Red Octane is worth $100mm, what is Harmonix worth?

Well, we found out today. MTV paid $175mm in cash for Harmonix. Well done guys. Great game. Great payday.

The Guitar Hero franchise is worth $275mm, $100mm for distribution rights, and $175mm for the creators.

Cool. Get Guitar Hero and see what all the fuss is about.

Comments (6) | Posted September 22, 2006 in Venture Capital and Technology

Comments

Wow, I love it when the good guys win!

Posted by: steve | Sep 22, 2006 9:33:49 AM

I played this game for the first time the other day. It was pretty fun.

But not as much fun as playing a real guitar. ;-)

Posted by: Altay | Sep 22, 2006 11:16:44 AM

better than a real guitar (as in... more fun)

Posted by: spyder | Sep 22, 2006 4:29:01 PM

Harmonix Music has done more than just Guitar Hero. They've been doing music-related video games for about 10 years now. It's an underserved gaming niche, due to the prevelence of first-person-shoot-em-up games.

Good to see them have this kind of success in the tough gaming business.

Congrats indeed!

Posted by: Chris D | Sep 24, 2006 8:01:54 PM

Hi all,
for those looking for more guitar hero,
I recommend an Open Source PC and keyboard alternative with extanding play list capability :
http://louhi.kempele.fi/~skyostil/uv/fretsonfire/

Posted by: math | Sep 28, 2006 7:46:56 AM

I'm not familiar with this game. Does it actually provide some benefit in terms of enhancing or developing musical skills like some Line6's guitarport?

Posted by: everysandwich | Oct 13, 2006 4:49:16 PM

A VC

Musings of a VC in NYC