From: jared@wizards.com (Jared Earle)
Subject: [wotc] Five Rings Publishing
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 1997 16:10:25 +0100
Organization: Wizards of the Coast UK Ltd.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WIZARDS OF THE COAST ACQUIRES FIVE RINGS PUBLISHING GROUP INC.

June 26, 1997 (Renton, Wash.)--Wizards of the Coast Inc. today 
announced that it has completed an agreement to acquire the 
Bellevue, WA-based Five Rings Publishing Group Inc. Both companies 
are privately held and financial terms of the deal have not been 
disclosed.

Five Rings Publishing Group, founded in 1996, is the creator and 
publisher of the *Legend of the Five Rings*(TM) trading card game 
and the producer of the *Star Trek(R): The Next Generation*(TM) 
collectable dice game. It is also the publisher of the soon-to-be-
released *Dune(R): Eye of the Storm*(TM) trading card game.

Peter Adkison, president and CEO of Wizards of the Coast, noted, 
"Five Rings Publishing is a young, dynamic company that has created 
an impressive model for producing high-quality games over a short 
period of time. The company excels at combining strong property 
licenses with superb game play, and its expertise in the adventure 
game category greatly complements Wizards of the Coast’s line of 
products."

Robert M. Abramowitz, CEO of Five Rings Publishing Group, added, 
"Five Rings Publishing and Wizards of the Coast both practice a 
corporate philosophy focused on interacting closely with consumers 
through demonstrations, tournaments and active correspondence. The 
opportunity to combine the unique talents of the two companies will 
allow our products to continue to stand out in the marketplace."

Wizards of the Coast is a privately held game company that publishes 
the world's bestselling trading card game, the *Magic: The 
Gathering*(R) TCG. Headquartered outside of Seattle, Wash., in the 
city of Renton, Wizards of the Coast is the leading authority on 
card games and adventure board games, with top-selling titles such 
as the *BattleTech*(R) trading card game and the new *Corporate 
Shuffle*(TM) card game, which is based on the internationally 
famous DILBERT cartoon character. Wizards of the Coast has 
international offices in Antwerp, Paris and London. For more 
information on Wizards of the Coast, visit the company's website 
at <http://www.wizards.com> or its CompuServe forum at <GO WIZARDS>.

WIZARDS OF THE COAST, *Magic: The Gathering* and *Corporate Shuffle* 
are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast Inc. *Legend of the Five Rings*, 
*Star Trek: The Next Generation* collectable dice game and *Dune: Eye 
of the Storm* are trademarks of Five Rings Publishing Group Inc. *Star 
Trek* is a registered trademark of Paramount Pictures. *Dune* is a 
registered trademark of MCA/Universal Merchandising Inc. *BattleTech* 
is a registered trademark of FASA Corporation. (C)1997 FASA 
Corporation.  The BattleTech universe is owned by FASA Corporation and 
used under license. DILBERT (C) United Feature Syndicate Inc. (C)1997 
Wizards of the Coast Inc.


--
 jared@wizards.com - http://web.ukonline.co.uk/jared.earle/index.html
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