Ener1 Group Acquires Nival Interactive

The Ener1 Group, an American-based holding company which has previously specialized in areas such as lithium batteries, fuel cells, and nanotechnology materials, has branched out into videogame production with its acquisition of Nival Interactive, the largest games developer in Russia. Nival is currently developing Heroes of Might and Magic V, to be published by Ubisoft on PC in early 2006. Nival Interactive's staff is composed of 140 employees. Most of these are currently in Nival's Russian offices, but Ener1 has also opened Nival Inc., located in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, to headquarter the company in North America. Ener1 additionally promised to expand these new U.S. operations further as part of its investment, and will also provide Nival with entry into the Japanese market. It seems that Ener1 particularly plans to expand Nival into the next-generation console and mobile gaming areas, which are in a much more enervated state than the relatively becalmed PC gaming market. Founded in 1996, Nival Interactive has developed a number of prominent PC titles, including CDV-published World War II real-time strategy game Blitzkrieg, which has sold more than a million copies worldwide, as well as the award-winning Silent Storm strategy game series. Sergey Orlovskiy, Nival's co-founder and CEO, has been named president of the new U.S.-headquartered Nival. Commenting on the acquisition, Ener1 president Mike Zoi commented: "We believe that Nival Interactive is the ideal platform and that Sergey Orlovskiy is the ideal person to expand the new company and the Nival Interactive brand as we continue to grow through future acquisitions." "Ener1 Group's resources and international presence will accelerate Nival's strategy for growth," said Orlovskiy, "developing exceptional and creative content for the interactive entertainment industry, exploring new distribution opportunities and attracting top talent in the global marketplace."