Keywords Studios looks to boost PR reach with LabCom acquisition

The gaming services giant continues its acquisition spree after agreeing earlier this month to acquire customer support platform Helpshift for up to $75m.

Dublin-based Keywords Studios has acquired LabCom, a PR and communications agency based in Italy.

The gaming services giant has paid €1m in cash for the business, which it hopes will help it extend its communications reach and PR capabilities across Europe.

Founded in 2005 by Marco Giannatiempo, Milan-based LabCom offers integrated communication services, including PR advice, social media management, data-driven influencer campaigns and brand partnerships.

The company and its 16 staff focus mainly on the video game sector in Italy, with some of its biggest clients being Riot Games, Konami and Bethesda.

Giannatiempo will continue to lead LabCom after the acquisition. He said the company has always aimed to “deliver constant growth over time” and to broaden its customer service offering to better support its customers.

“We are very excited by this important agreement and believe it will allow us to achieve excellent results in the coming years in Europe and beyond,” Giannatiempo said.

Keywords Studios CEO Bertrand Bodson added that the company had worked closely with LabCom and was “very impressed by the quality of the team and the excellent service they provide”.

“This transaction broadens our reach in PR and communications services, and supports our strategy of building out a complete marketing offering for our clients,” Bodson said.

This is Keywords Studios’ second acquisition deal this month, after reaching a conditional agreement to acquire customer support platform Helpshift for up to $75m.

Founded in Ireland in 1998, Keywords Studios has grown to encompass more than 70 facilities in 26 countries across Asia, Australia, the Americas and Europe.

A former Technology Ireland Company of the Year, Keywords has been on an acquisition spree, announcing plans to snap up Vancouver-based game development studio Smoking Gun in September.

This came soon after it acquired Australia’s Mighty Games to bring AI-based game testing services to its clients and bolster its presence in Australia. In June, it shared plans to acquire games development studio Forgotten Empires in a deal worth up to $32.5m.

Keywords’ clients include some of the biggest names in gaming such as Activision Blizzard, Microsoft, Epic Games, Ubisoft, Konami and Electronic Arts.

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