VR developer nDreams acquired by Swedish firm Aonic for £90m

Hampshire-based virtual reality (VR) firm nDreams has been acquired by Swedish video game company Aonic in a £90.3m deal.

Headquartered in Farnborough, nDreams develops and publishes VR games, working with partners representing the major headsets such as the Meta Quest, Valve Index and PlayStation VR.

The company has developed games such as Phantom: Covert Ops, PowerWash Simulator VR and Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord.

The company has now be acquired by Stockholm-headquartered Aonic, which in 2022 invested $35m (£28m) into nDreams.

“This is the right moment to welcome the support of Aonic to strengthen our position even further, and seize this critical moment for VR and MR,” said nDreams CEO Patrick O’Luanaigh.

“Crucially, after 18 months of working alongside Aonic and benefiting from their investment, we’re confident we’ve found the right partner. This deal wouldn’t have happened otherwise. nDreams and Aonic share a vision and we’re excited to keep pushing the boundaries of VR, with more announcements coming soon!”

Previous backer Mercia Asset Management, which held a 33.2% stake in nDreams, has exited with a total return of £30.2m, which includes a £3.8m stake in Aonic.

“When we first invested in nDreams we had a high conviction in the potential of VR gaming, and this realisation is a strong validation of that thesis,” said Julian Viggars, CIO of Mercia Asset Management and nDreams’ board member.

“We have proactively supported nDreams since 2014 and are pleased that we will continue to benefit from their continuing growth as part of Aonic, through our partial reinvestment.”