Embracer Group Acquires IP Rights To ‘Lord Of The Rings’ And ‘The Hobbit’

deadline.com:

Swedish video game company Embracer Group has acquired Middle-earth Enterprises, a division of The Saul Zaentz Company, which owns the intellectual property catalogue and worldwide rights to The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit by J.R.R.

Tolkien.The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. But the deal means Embracer Group will pick up the motion picture, video game, board game, merchandising, theme parks and stage productions rights relating to The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit franchises as well as matching rights in other Middle-earth-related literary works authorized by the Tolkien Estate and HarperCollins, which have yet to be explored.“I am truly excited to have The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, one of the world’s most epic fantasy franchises join the Embracer family, opening up more transmedia opportunities including synergies across our global group,” said Lars Wingefors, Founder and Group CEO Embracer Group. “I am thrilled to see what lies in the future for this IP with Freemode and Asmodee as a start within the group.

Going forward, we also look forward to collaborating with both existing and new external licensees of our increasingly stronger IP portfolio.”As part of the deal, Middle-earth Enterprises will form part of the newly founded operative group Embracer Freemode.

The company will continue to operate independently under the existing Middle-earth Enterprises leadership team.In a statement, Marty Glick, COO of The Saul Zaentz Company, said: “We at the Zaentz Company have had the honor over the past half century of stewarding the Tolkien rights so that Lord of the Rings and Hobbit fans worldwide could enjoy award winning epic films, challenging video games, first rate theatre and