Electronic Arts (EA) has confirmed that the pensions of Codemasters Group employees will be safeguarded in its agreed £945m acquisition of the British videogame developer and publisher.
EA stated that it did not intend to make any changes to the agreed employer contributions into Codemasters’ existing defined contribution pension schemes or other pension schemes, although the group does not participate in any defined benefit pension scheme.
The conditions of the acquisition include specifications that Codemasters employees had not agreed or consented to changes to the terms of trust deeds constituting the pension scheme(s) established by any member of the group for its directors, employees or their dependents.
Additionally, it was stated that no changes should have been agreed with regard to contributions payable, qualification for pension benefits or the basis upon which pension liabilities of the company’s pension schemes were funded, valued or made.
A statement from Codemasters said: “The Codemasters Board welcomes EA’s intentions with respect to the future operations of the business and its employees as part of EA, in particular, EA’s confirmation of its intention to safeguard the existing statutory and contractual employment and pension rights of Codemasters’ employees and management and not to make any material change to the balance of skills and functions of employees across Codemasters.”
Codemasters is known for developing racing games such as the Dirt and F1 series’, while videogame giant EA develops and publishes a wide range of titles, from licensed sports titles such as the FIFA series to the first-person shooter Battlefield series.
— to www.pensionsage.com
