Midway Spends Again News

Midway Games today confirmed the acquisition of Paradox Development, the studio that it currently developing the forthcoming Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks for the US publisher.

Midway acquired the previously privately-held Paradox in an all-stock transaction for 333,334 of Midwayâ??s common shares. In addition, a total of 261, 906 restricted shares of Midway common stock were issued to key Paradox employees as retention incentives. The restrictions on the stock will lapse in stages over a period of three years, provided the employee remains at the Company. The Paradox employees who received restricted shares were: Teresa Chang, Damon Dubois, David Gautrey, James Guintu, Christine Hsu, Paul Interrante, Peter Jefferies, Ben Kutcher, Mark Lappin, James Maxwell, David Ollman, Adam Phul, Richie Romero, Barclay Smith and Paul Stapley.

The move marks the third acquisition by Midway in recent months following similar acquisitions of both Inevitable Entertainment and Surreal Software, as the US publisher aims to strengthen its internal development capabilities ahead of the next-generation.

Midway President and Chief Executive Officer David F. Zucker commented, "In acquiring Paradox Development, we have added a talented and established developer that not only deepens our internal product development organization but also brings incremental fighting-genre expertise to Midway. We have made great strides in improving our overall quality of games, and the industry and our customers have recognized this accomplishment. Today's acquisition further strengthens our ability to expand on our current portfolio of games and produce new high quality, top-selling games for the future. Furthermore, the Paradox teams' expertise in the fighting genre is an excellent fit with Midway's product strengths and will help us extend the Mortal Kombat franchise into the action-adventure genre and release a highly engaging title in the Mortal Kombat universe annually."