Rock Band Earns $325 Million... So Far
We often lose track of earn-outs, those milestone-based payments that can come years after a company is formally sold. So thanks to Silicon Alley Insider for pointing us toward this SEC filing, indicating that Harmonix scored $150 million last quarter from parent company Viacom. Harmonix is the maker of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, the games that have caused millions of teenagers (ok, and me) to see fake guitar tabs when it’s time for shuteye. It raised around $7.7 million in VC funding between 1998 and 2001, with a top post-money valuation of $38 million. It was then bought by Viacom subsidiary MTV Networks in 2006 for a reported $175 million. That sale figure now rises to $325 million with the Q3 earn-out, and is expected to go even higher.
