Deering Joins Codemasters As Investor Increases Stake

Officials from British publisher Codemasters have announced that former Sony Europe Computer Entertainment (SCEE) chairman and CEO Chris Deering has joined the company’s board of management as non-executive chairman, as the company continues to diversify into MMO (RF Online) and casual markets. Highly respected in Europe for his successful launch of the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 in European markets, Deering retired from Sony in December 2005 to spend more time with his family in the U.S. "Over the past 20 years, I have been impressed with Codemasters' excellence in game development and skilful marketing in the PlayStation market and overall gaming space. The company's heritage and the reputation it carries makes this a thoroughly exciting prospect and I look forward to contributing to its future success”, said Deering. At the same time, Codemasters representatives have also announced that venture capital firm Benchmark Capital Europe has increased its investment in the company from 40 percent to 70 percent. CEO Rob Cousens, former CEO at Acclaim Entertainment, has also acquired a 1.5 percent stake in the company, in what is another significant management and financial shake-up for the twenty year old veteran publisher. Ynon Kreiz, general partner at Benchmark Capital Europe has commented: "Since our initial investment last year, Codemasters has demonstrated that it can become a major force in a very competitive and dynamic industry. The additional investment and the appointment of industry icon Chris Deering as Chairman further strengthens our commitment to making Codemasters a global leader in the video games market. We look forward to continue building the company and benefiting from our successful partnership with Codemasters founders, the Darling family."