Publisher SouthPeak Interactive paid nothing up front for the privilege of swallowing Gamecock, the independent-oriented publishing house started by gaming entrepreneur Mike Wilson (pictured at left).

The Cut Scene, looking at a recent SEC filing by SouthPeak, found that the publisher is making two payouts: a 7% royalty on future Gamecock releases (with the rest of revenues going to SouthPeak) and "a warrant to purchase 700,000 shares of SouthPeak stock."

In essence, SouthPeak got a great deal for the independent publisher of Red Fly's Mushroom Men (Wii, DS) and Spark Unlimited's Legendary (PC, 360, PS3). Gamecock's ownership, on the other hand, got a stake in a rather small publisher.

SouthPeak has committed to publishing the two aforementioned Gamecock titles as well as Replay Studios' Velvet Assassin (PC, 360) next year, but after that the future of the Gamecock brand and the role of CEO Mike Wilson--who once before sold off an independent-oriented publisher he helped found--is unknown.

Publisher SouthPeak Interactive today announced that it has acquired independent game publisher Gamecock Media Group for an undisclosed sum.

Gamecock will retain its focus on independent games, according to comments from each company's CEO. It marks Gamecock CEO Mike Wilson's second sell-off of an independent-oriented game publisher he helped create, the first being Gathering of Developers, which was sold to Take-Two in 2000.

SouthPeak CEO Melanie Mroz stated that the acquisition "supports our strategy of working with independent developers" and gives "Gamecock titles a bigger platform to succeed."

Gamecock's holiday lineup, which includes Red Fly's Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars (Wii) and Mushroom Men: Rise of the Fungi (DS) and Spark Unlimited's Legendary (PC, PS3, 360), appears to be unchanged, with SouthPeak claiming they are still expected to ship this quarter, followed by Replay Studios'Velvet Assassin (PC, 360) next year.

"We are thrilled to be joining forces with SouthPeak to continue to bring great original titles from independent developers to market with a stronger sales and distribution reach," explained Gamecock CEO Wilson. "We have followed each other's progress closely over the last two years, and combining our team with theirs results in a very strong and well-rounded force in the market."