Onlive's mysterious buyer is a mystery no longer. The streaming-game company was purchased by venture capitalist group Lauder Partners, LLC – helmed by tech investor Gary Lauder.
A new company has been formed that will run OnLive. Although the The asset acquisition is described as a "heartbreaking transition for everyone involved with OnLive," the service itself will continue, with the company reporting that users will notice no interruption in OnLive's service. In fact, consumers are "not expected to notice any change whatsoever."
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Some people who will notice a change: OnLive's employees. According to the company, almost half of OnLive's staff were offered employment at their current salaries in the new company immediately upon the transfer, and the non-hired staff "will be given offers to do consulting in return for options in the new company."
In case you're worried about OnLive's executives: They will receiving "reduced compensation," in order to hire more employees, and OnLive president Steve Perlman is receiving no compensation whatsoever.
The company released an FAQ, which I've re-posted below, if you want to get into the nitty-gritty of the OnLive purchased.
Q. Will users see any change in the OnLive Game or Desktop Services? What about their purchases?
A. Users should see no change in the OnLive Game or Desktop Services. All of their purchases remain intact and available. OnLive has been up 24/7 since launch over two years ago and expects to remain so. OnLive has over 2.5 million subscribers, with an active base of over 1.5 million subscribers, connecting from a vast range of devices and networks, with many sessions running for hours. The user base is growing rapidly with OnLive's addition into recently announced devices and TVs from major manufacturers. We expect this growth to continue under the new company.
Q. Is there any cash or stock in the new company provided for any OnLive, Inc. shares?
A. Unfortunately not. The nature of the transaction is such that only assets, not shares, were purchased. This is true for all shares of OnLive, Inc., whether held by investors, employees or executives.
Q. Did Steve Perlman receive stock or compensation in this transaction?
A. Like all shareholders, neither Steve nor any of his companies received any stock in the new company or compensation in this transaction at all. Steve is receiving no compensation whatsoever and most execs are receiving reduced compensation to allow the company to hire as many employees as possible within the current budget.
