Koch Media Expands In Europe

Officials from Koch Media, European publisher of games such as Earth 2160 and Singles, and related to giant music distributor Koch Entertainment, have announced that the European game publisher has acquired French publisher SG Diffusion, giving the company access to publishing and distribution across a new total of six European territories. SG Diffusion handles a number of prominent console and PC titles in France, including NCsoft’s Guild Wars, and is headed by president Christian Brecheteau and managing director Pierre Ortolan, who, between them, have worked at a number of prominent publishers including Sega, Codemasters, Virgin, Acclaim and Interplay. Koch Media already has local offices in Germany, the UK (where, like the U.S., it trades under the alternative name of Deep Silver), Italy, Austria and Switzerland. With the inroad into France, the company estimates that it now has a 70 percent coverage of all European territories – more than many much larger companies which often use local distributors in each country. CEO Klemens Kundratitz has commented: "Our growth over the last four years in the interactive arena has been significant and the establishment of an experienced French office was of utmost strategic importance. More significantly, Koch can now provide local expertise in the most powerful European territories, a skill that even some of the other top players are unable to offer."