Houlihan Lokey Advises Play Magnus Group

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Play Magnus Group (Play Magnus; PMG.OL) has been acquired by Chess.com, LLC, a portfolio company of General Atlantic. The transaction was announced on August 24, 2022, and closed on December 16, 2022.

Play Magnus is a leading provider of premier chess experiences for millions of chess players and students. Co-founded by five-time World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen in 2013, the company offers e-learning and entertainment services via its brands: chess24, Chessable, iChess, New In Chess, Everyman Chess, Magnus Academy, Aimchess, the Play Magnus App Suite, and the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. The company’s mission is to grow chess and make the world a smarter place by encouraging more people to play, watch, study, and earn a living from chess. From the beginning, Magnus has served a crucial role in the company as a key shareholder, content creator, ambassador, participant on the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, and special advisor.

Chess.com is a leading provider of chess gaming and other chess-related services, offering a vibrant forum and social network, a news feed, a chess academy, a coaching platform, tactics and puzzles, live tournaments, a separate website for kids (ChessKid.com), and ChessTV.

Play Magnus' and Chess.com's complementary offerings and their shared vision and mission will allow the combined company to achieve significant synergies and bring new opportunities for developing the future of chess. The combination of Chess.com's large user base and dominant Playzone with Play Magnus' leading e-learning platform and Champions Chess Tour will allow the enterprise to expand its presence in the online chess market and grow the game to new heights.

Houlihan Lokey served as financial co-advisor to Play Magnus with ABG Sundal Collier and assisted in marketing, structuring, and negotiating the transaction with Chess.com and General Atlantic.This transaction further highlights Houlihan Lokey’s leading position in advising premier video game and digital media companies around the world.