“BioWare and Pandemic are truly among the greats of worldwide game developers. We at Elevation are proud to have been chosen by them to be their partners and to work with them in growing their businesses,” said John Riccitiello, a managing director at Elevation Partners and CEO for the new holding company, BioWare/Pandemic Studios.

The companies each have two co-founders, and under the deal, all four will become shareholders and senior executives in BioWare/Pandemic Studios. The deal also gives employees of both companies an ownership stake in the new business.

“Our most valuable assets are the people who make it all happen,” said Josh Resnick, president of Pandemic Studios. “Our creative, production and operational staff are as vital to our success as directors and stars are to blockbuster films, and we are giving them the stakeholder recognition they deserve. Our mutual goal is to build the industry’s best place for talent.”

Greg Zeschuk, joint CEO of BioWare Corp, said that the cash infusion will take pressure off both companies to rush games to market before their time. “Great video games don’t roll off the assembly line—they are an art form, as lovingly crafted as a film, musical score, or novel,” Zeschuk said. “That means taking the time to nurture top talent, then letting that talent work its magic. Fans are the real winners in this deal, because we will now have the resources and creative discretion to make the right decisions for our products. This is truly a new way of doing business.”

Pandemic is known for its top-selling action/adventure titles; BioWare is the leading independent developer of story- and character-based role-playing games. Both will retain their separate brands and creative teams, and continue to operate in their respective cities: BioWare in Edmonton, Canada; Pandemic in Los Angeles and Brisbane, Australia. Both studios plan future expansions at these and other locations.

The cash infusion will allow Pandemic and BioWare to rapidly support new game consoles ensuring each title has the necessary resources to achieve the highest quality. Andrew Goldman, Pandemic Studios’ CEO, said that publishers remain vital to the business. “This is still very much a collaboration with our publishing partners. We will continue to innovate and deliver top-quality hit games and they will continue to transform that creativity into blockbuster titles.”

“BioWare and Pandemic will use our new alliance as a launch pad for exchanging creative ideas, cutting edge technologies and top talent while retaining our distinctive cultures,” said Ray Muzyka, joint CEO of BioWare Corp. “In a business where developers often must sell out to survive, this deal is refreshingly new: a partnership of equals.”

Behind the deal: Facts and stats

The transaction value, including future capital needs and rollover of the founders’ shareholdings, will be more than $300 million, making the BioWare/Pandemic alliance one of the world’s best-funded and largest independent game development efforts. The combined group will immediately have more than 450 employees, with offices in Los Angeles, Edmonton, Canada, and Brisbane, Australia.