Embracer Group becomes Sauron's boss with the acquisition of Middle-Earth Enterprises

Sweden's Embracer Group, a global collection of entrepreneurial businesses in the gaming and entertainment industry, has announced that they have entered into an agreement to acquire Middle Earth Enterprises, a division of The Saul Zaentz Copany. Middle Earth Enterprises controls I.P. licenses for J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary works The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings, and will function under Embracer's subsidiary, Freemode Iconic Holding Inc.

The acquired rights would give Embracer group control of worldwide rights to motion pictures, television series, video games, board games, merchandising, theme parks, and stage productions related to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It would also include matching rights in any literary works authorized by the Tolkien estate and HarperCollins, who retain the rights to publish the written works.

This marks the third major acquisition for Embracer Group this year. Previous acquisitions included the Asmodee Group which in turn owns several large and small boardgame publishers such as Fantasy Flight Games, Days of Wonder, Z-Man Games, Catan Studios, and Plan B Games. Embracer Group also purchased Dark Horse Media which consists of Dark Horse Comics, publisher of periodical comics and graphic novels, Dark Horse Entertainment, a film/television production company that has produced more than 40 films, and Things from Another World, three retail stores that specializes in comics and pop culture merchandise.