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Investment Group Paid $49.99 For Harmonix?
Viacom's intent to divest itself of Rock Band developer Harmonix Music Systems was unceremoniously announced in November in a financial report, and rumors swirled that another games publisher would pounce on Harmonix. Instead, a few weeks ago, Viacom announced that it had sold the studio to investment group Columbus Nova for an undisclosed sum.
The Wall Street Journal is now reporting that Columbus Nova got what seems to be one heck of a deal. If its sources are correct, the firm picked up Harmonix for $49.99. Of course, there's a bit more to it than that, otherwise Viacom would have been better served listing it on eBay. While Columbus Nova got the entire company for less than $50, it did indeed get the entire company. That includes its debt and other liabilities, such as responsibility for unsold copies of its games. In addition, the Journal says that Viacom gets $150 million in tax benefits, which isn't too shabby considering the company was originally purchased for $175 million back in 2006.
We'll obviously have to wait and see if Columbus Nova made a smart decision by investing in a company so heavily focused on music games, or if Viacom made the better play. The genre doesn't quite have the same luster as it did during the heyday of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, but that doesn't mean that a resurgence isn't possible.
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