SYDNEY: iCandy Interactive Ltd has entered into a binding term sheet with Lemon Sky Studios to set up a new joint venture (JV) game studio company, a news release said.

The JV that will focus on developing 3D mobile games with cross-platform potential and of AAA quality. The JV will develop its own new line of game-titles.

The JV will be incorporated in Malaysia with 50:50 initial shareholding between iCandy and Lemon Sky. iCandy and Lemon Sky commit a total of MYR 1.0 million (A$335,000) of initial working capital into the JV company, with equal capital contribution from each side.

Further working capital could be provided by the founding shareholders equally or third-party investors that could be invited to invest into JV company at a later stage.

The initial operation and game studio of the JV-co will be set up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The strategic collaboration between iCandy and Lemon Sky will allow the 2 companies to leverage on each other’s strength to expand their product offerings, with iCandy offering its large gamers community as well as prowess in mobile gaming and esports; and Lemon Sky offering its world-class animation and digital art skills, as well as business connection with global gaming industry behemoths

Whilst iCandy has been successful with in its core business (i.e., developing and publishing mobile games), iCandy believes that the strategic collaboration with Lemon Skywill help the Company step up its game by adding to its portfolio the capability to develop 3D mobile games with better visuals and animation, which can be a catalyst to propel the Company to its next level of growth and success.

iCandy will fund its portion of financing for the JV company from its operating cashflow. iCandy’s quoted shares on ASX were put on a trading pause earlier while the binding term sheet for the JV-Co was being finalized. iCandy’s quoted shares on ASX will resume trading upon the release of this announcement.

Lemon Sky is one of the world’s leading animation and digital art studio that focusses on developing animation and digital art for the video-game industry. Lemon Sky currently employs more than 350 highly skilled artists from around the world.

Since its founding in 2006, Lemon Sky has worked with gaming industry giants such as Disney, Blizzard Entertainment, Electronic Arts, Square Enix, Naughty Dog, 2K Games, Capcom, Bandai Namco, and Nickelodeon. Lemon Sky has a tremendous successful track-records of working on AAA game-titles. www.lemonskystudios.com

iCandy Interactive Limited (ASX: ICI) is an Australian publicly traded company that has its core business in the development and publishing of videogames and digital entertainment for a global audience. iCandy Interactive runs a portfolio of mobile games that have been played by over 350 million mobile gamers worldwide and has won multiple awards in various coveted international events. www.icandy.io