Ashurst acted as special German counsel to international media group MTG (Modern Times Group) and their subsidiary MTGx, headquartered in Sweden, on the acquisition of 35 per cent of the shares in InnoGames GmbH, a leading global online games developer and publisher, from Eight Roads Ventures and the Company's founders. The investment is in line with MTG's digital strategy to invest in relevant, complementary and scalable digital content and communities. It creates a third digital entertainment vertical for MTGx alongside its esports and MPN businesses. The transaction is subject to German and Austrian merger approvals.

The transaction is based on an Enterprise Value of EUR 260m. MTG has the right to acquire a further 16% of the company at the same Enterprise Value until the end of September 2017, and options to increase its shareholding further over time.

With over 100 million Euros revenue in 2015 and more than 150 million registered players, InnoGames is one of the world's leading developers and providers of online games. Founded in 2007, the company is based in Hamburg and Dusseldorf and currently employs over
400 professionals from 30 nations. InnoGames has scored major success with games such as Tribal Wars, Grepolis and Forge of Empires.

The German Ashurst team was headed by corporate partner Matthias von Oppen and counsel Dr. Philip Cavaillès (Lead, both corporate/M&A, Frankfurt). The team comprised senior associates Dr Ian Maywald and Jan Kupfer, associate Markus Hiebel and paralegal Carsten Felsch (all corporate/commercial, Frankfurt). Furthermore, partner Dr Andreas Mauroschat (employment and data protection) as well as senior associates Dr Marius Fritzsche and Juditha von der Heydt (both employment, Frankfurt) advised. Partner Dr Martin Bünning covered tax law aspects of the transaction whereas counsel Dr Anna-Katharina Lohbeck advised on IT topics (both Frankfurt). Competition law aspects were handled by partner Ute Zinsmeister, senior associate Dr Maria Held and Franziska Sauer (all Munich). Senior associate Michael Mehler and associate Daniela Kowalsky (both real estate, Frankfurt) assisted on real estate topics.

In 2015, Ashurst advised MTG on the acquisition of 74 % of the shares in Turtle Entertainment, the world's largest esports company.