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Japanese video game developer Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. bought Rovio Entertainment, the Finland-based video game developer that created Angry Birds, for about $776 million.
Sega is offering Rovio shareholders $10.17 per share and company option holders $1.63 per share, Sega said in a statement on Monday. Rovio's board of directors unanimously recommended that shareholders accept the proposal, which was supported by 49% of shareholders, including the Heads of Rovio's founding family.
The deal concludes multi-party talks with Rovio following an $810 million offer from Israel-based Playtika Holding Corp. published earlier this year. Rovio announced on March 22 that it had ended negotiations with Playtika, but continued to be in touch with the other side. Sega's offer is a 63% premium to Rovio's January 19 closing price, which preceded Playtika's offer. Sega's offerings are also about 19% off Friday's close.
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Sega is largely focused on console and smartphone games for long-term growth, as its traditional pachinko and arcade businesses have suffered in recent years from declining viewership, even amid restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Games made by Sega include Sonic the Hedgehog, Crazy Taxi, and Yakuza.
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When Sega announced the deal, it said the decision to buy Rovio was driven by the need to "strengthen its position" in the global games market. According to the BBC, the company says the market will reach $263.3 billion by 2026, with its share of mobile games growing to 56 percent.
"Among the rapidly growing global game market, the mobile game market has very high potential, and Sega's long-term goal is to accelerate its expansion in this space," said Sega CEO Haruki Satomi Monday.
"I am pleased to announce the agreement with Rovio, the company that owns Angry Birds, which is known around the world and home to a large number of skilled employees who support the development and operation of games. The company's state-of-the-art technology," he continued.
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Rovio's Angry Birds, the company's most popular franchise, hit app stores in 2009. According to Bloomberg, mobile games account for more than 80% of Rovio's total orders. The game is the first mobile game to reach 1 billion downloads. Following the game's success, Rovio went public in 2017 with a market value of around $990 million.
The Finnish company suffered a stock market slump in its early months after its earnings disappointed shareholders, and shares never fully recoupled losses.
Rovio developed more than 50 video games in its early years, including Darkest Fear, CyberBlood, and Wolf Moon, which launched Angry Birds for the first time on iOS devices, and Maemo, as iPhone touchscreen technology was still new. . .Won.
The company has not achieved the same success with other titles as it did with Angry Birds, which has worried investors. Rovio has been trying to expand into other brands and types of games. He said several new games were in development.
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Rovio is also acquiring smaller competitors and game studios to expand into hyper-casual and puzzle games.
As of 2016, the Angry Birds franchise includes two films and one Netflix show. Rovio also generates royalties for consumer products.
Last year, Rovio announced that continuous game downloads had reached five billion.
Reuters contributed to this report.