Benzinga | Jan 5, 2021 03:30AM EST

Nintendo To Buy 'Luigi's Mansion' Creator Next Level Games

Nintendo Co Ltd (OTC:NTDOY) said Tuesday it had reached an agreement to acquire Vancouver-based Next Level Games.

What Happened: The two companies have entered into an agreement under which Nintendo will acquire 100% of Next Level Games' outstanding shares, in effect making it a subsidiary of the Japanese company, as per a statement, first noted on Nintendo Wire.

The deal is expected to close by March 1, pending regulatory approval. No financial terms were disclosed in Nintendo's statement.

Why It Matters: Next Level Games has experience of 20 years in planning and developing software for home video game machines including Nintendo's 3DS and Switch consoles.

The Canadian company has in recent years worked on software such as the "Luigi's Mansion" series.

Nintendo expects to sell 21% more Switch consoles for the year ending March 2021 than the previously projected 19 million units.

See Also: PlayStation 5 Already Sets A Record For Sony: Here's What To Know

Rival Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE) has plans to sell 100 million PS5 units, while Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) which makes Xbox is focusing on the number of players instead of console sales.

Price Action: Nintendo OTC shares closed 2.26% lower at $78.70 on Monday.