Funko Acquires Award Winning Board Game Studio


EVERETT, Wash., Feb. 15, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Funko, Inc. ("Funko,” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq:FNKO), a leading pop culture consumer products company, today announced it has acquired Forrest-Pruzan Creative LLC (FPC), an acclaimed board game development studio.

Based in Seattle, Washington, FPC was founded in 2000 by Andy Forrest and Alan Pruzan and has a staff of over twenty designers working under the creative leadership of Jay Wheatley. FPC specializes in game invention, game design, and playtesting. The FPC creative team has developed multiple award-winning board games incorporating top-tier licenses for all ages, including Disney Villainous, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle, Bob Ross – Art of Chill and Choose Your Own Adventure – House of Danger.

Funko believes that everyone is a fan of something, and this acquisition allows pop culture enthusiasts to display their fandom through multi-player interaction comprised by their favorite characters and introduces Funko to an entirely new demographic, ardent board gamers.

“We’ve always been incredibly impressed with FPC’s portfolio and have witnessed the company make a name for itself on a global level.,” said Funko President Andrew Perlmutter. “As we expand our product portfolio, we believe this acquisition is in line with what we are doing with apparel, accessories and Funko Animation Studios. The games category is another avenue to deliver pop culture to our ever-growing fan base. FPC’s nearly two decades of experience in developing high quality games will provide us added expertise as we leverage our existing IP and licensor portfolio into this category.”

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, and the Company does not expect the acquisition to have a material impact on its financial performance in 2019.

About Funko, Inc.

Headquartered in Everett, Washington, Funko is a leading pop culture consumer products company. Funko designs, sources and distributes licensed pop culture products across multiple categories, including vinyl figures, action toys, plush, apparel, housewares and accessories for consumers who seek tangible ways to connect with their favorite pop culture brands and characters. Learn more at https://funko.com/, and follow us on Twitter (@OriginalFunko) and Instagram (@OriginalFunko).

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the acquisition of FPC and expected benefits to the Company. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following: our success integrating the business of FPC; our ability to maintain and realize the full value of our license agreements; the ongoing level of popularity of our products with consumers; changes in the retail industry and markets for our consumer products; our ability to maintain our relationships with retail customers and distributors; our ability to compete effectively; fluctuations in our gross margin; our dependence on content development and creation by third parties; our ability to develop and introduce products in a timely and cost-effective manner; our ability to obtain, maintain and protect our intellectual property rights or those of our licensors; potential violations of the intellectual property rights of others; our ability to attract and retain qualified employees and maintain our corporate culture; risks associated with our international operations; changes in U.S. tax law; foreign currency exchange rate exposure; the possibility or existence of global and regional economic downturns; our dependence on vendors and outsourcers; risks relating to government regulation; risks relating to litigation, including products liability claims and securities class action litigation; any failure to successfully integrate or realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions or investments; reputational risk resulting from our e-commerce business and social media presence; risks relating to our indebtedness and our ability to secure additional financing; the potential for our electronic data to be compromised; the influence of our significant stockholder, ACON, and the possibility that ACON’s interests may conflict with the interests of our other stockholders; risks relating to our organizational structure; volatility in the price of our Class A common stock; and the potential that we will fail to establish and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting. These and other important factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

Media Contact:
Jessica Piha
425-783-3616
Jessicap@funko.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3600cb7a-2f9e-4868-b5e2-e9207465c445

Press Release