Credit: Turtle Beach/ROCCAT
- Console headset maker Turtle Beach has agreed to acquire PC accessory company ROCCAT.
- The deal is worth as much as $19.2M USD total in cash, stock, and earnout payments.
- Turtle Beach sponsors several esports organizations, while ROCCAT previously had its own League of Legends team.
Gaming headset maker Turtle Beach has announced an agreement to acquire German PC accessory maker ROCCAT 
for up to $19.2M total in cash, stock, and earnout payments.
Turtle Beach is primarily focused on the console gaming headset market, where it has held at least 40% market share for nine straight years, according to a release. On the other hand, ROCCAT’s primary focus is PC peripherals, ranging from keyboards to mice and headsets.
While Turtle Beach also produces PC-compatible gaming headsets, the company is still best known for its console products. Acquiring the PC-centric ROCCAT gives Turtle Beach a stronger position in that market, while also offering an opportunity to expand its myriad partnerships into other peripherals.
It also makes Turtle Beach a more direct competitor to HyperX , which produces headsets, keyboard, mice, computer storage, and other accessories. Additionally, the deal provides Turtle Beach with supplementary international distribution channels where ROCCAT is more firmly established, such as in Germany and Asia.
Credit: ROCCAT
“This is a dynamic and strategically important deal for Turtle Beach,” said Turtle Beach CEO Juergen Stark in a release. “We are adding a complementary portfolio of PC gaming mice and keyboards, a skilled PC accessories team, and a highly synergistic distribution footprint.”
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Turtle Beach will acquire the privately-held ROCCAT for $14.8M in cash, another $1M in cash or stock (company option), and up to around $3.4M in earnout payments. Wedbush Securities was Turtle Beach’s exclusive financial advisor for the deal, while Morgan Lewis was its legal advisor. On ROCCAT’s side, CatCap was the exclusive financial advisor and Lutz Abel was the legal advisor.
The publicly-traded Turtle Beach also reported Q4 and full-year 2018 earnings on Thursday. Net revenue for Q4 was $111.3M, a rise of 40% from the same quarter the year prior. Full-year net revenue, meanwhile, increased 93% over 2017 from $149.1M to $287.4M. The company previously attributed the rapid growth to the popularity of battle royale games like Fortnite and PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS .
ROCCAT previously had its own branded team in the European League of Legends Championship Series (EU LCS) from 2014-2018, but did not pursue a franchise slot in the rebranded LoL European Championship (LEC). In November, the organization said that “the decision was made to broaden the brand’s focus to the wider esports scene.” Turtle Beach currently sponsors several teams, such as OpTic Gaming including the organization’s Overwatch League team the Houston Outlaws and Splyce .
