Hachette Livre group has signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in CATCH UP GAMES

Hachette Livre and CATCH UP GAMES’ shareholders have signed an agreement for Hachette Livre to acquire a majority stake in the capital of CATCH UP GAMES.

Founded in 2014 by Clément Milker and Sébastien Kihm, CATCH UP GAMES is an independent French board game publisher based in Lyon.

The company has recorded strong growth since it was founded and in just a few years it has earned a reputation for its creativity and ability to publish high-quality games like Sobek, Cubirds and The Loop. CATCH UP GAMES’ current catalogue includes about 20 games and is distributed by Blackrock Games in France.

Clément Milker and Sébastien Kihm will continue to run CATCH UP GAMES and pursue its growth while enjoying the creative independence unique to Hachette Livre’s culture. The publisher will join Hachette Boardgames division led by Isabelle Jeuge-Maynart and will remain based in Lyon.

This operation will strengthen Hachette Boardgames division by adding an eighth studio to complement the existing editorial offer of current studios Funnyfox, Studio H, Sorry We Are French, Le Scorpion Masqué, Hiboutatillus, La Boîte de jeu and Gigamic.

With this acquisition, Hachette Livre is confirming its strategic commitment to continuing to grow its board game publishing business.

Hachette Boardgames is a branch of Hachette Livre devoted to board game publishing. It comprises game publishers Gigamic, Studio H, Funnyfox, Le Scorpion Masqué, Sorry We Are French and Hiboutatillus, which publishes Blanc Manger Coco. It also includes distributors Gigamic and Blackrock Games in France, Randolph in Canada, Hachette Boardgames USA, Hachette Boardgames UK and Hachette Boardgames Benelux.

Hachette Livre is a subsidiary of Lagardère SA and the world’s third-largest mainstream publishing group (trade and educational). With revenue of €2,748 million in 2022, it is the market leader in France, number two in the UK, third in Spain and fourth in the US (in trade publishing). The Group comprises over 200 imprints which together publish around 15,000 new titles each year in a dozen languages (mainly French, English and Spanish). It covers all segments of the mainstream publishing market: general fiction, nonfiction, paperbacks, children’s and YA books, illustrated books, travel guides, textbooks, study guides and partworks.

Press contact

Hachette Livre

Magali Hamonic – mhamonic@hachette-livre.fr – 06 74 08 12 32

Camille Duchiron – camille.duchiron@taddeo.fr – 06 50 52 44 43

Catch Up Games

Matthieu Bonin - matthieu@catchupgames.com - 06 62 71 75 57

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