What happens when you admit a $2 billion deal collapsed overnight before an earnings presentation? Your stock is going to take a hit. That’s exactly what happened to Embracer, the massive conglomerate that owns numerous video game studios, board game publishers, and Dark Horse Comics… and the rights to The Lord of the Rings.

Embracer Group CEO Lars Wingefors stated in a May 24th sessions Q&A a partnership worth $2 billion fell throught, though the company it was with was never named. The list of candidates who could do that sort of deal is rather small though. The agreement was called “tranformative” in a press release and would have “set a new benchmark for the gaming industry.”

Overall, earnings for the fiscal year were below expectations due to game delays, weak consumer demand, and bad reception to releases. All of the above drove the stock down 45%.

But, it wasn’t all bad.

Tabletop games were up 6% for the fiscal year and the division that includes Dark Horse was up 8% for the year. Embracer purchased Dark Horse at the end of 2021. Further positive outlook for both were mentioned in the presentation.

(via Kotaku)