Japanese gaming giant Sega has confirmed that it has made a deal to acquire Finland’s Rovio in an all-cash deal worth €706 million ($775 million). Negotiations between Rovio and Israeli mobile gaming company Playtika failed to reach an agreement back in January, when the latter had tabled an offer of €750 million ($810 million) for Rovio.
The acquisition of Rovio by Sega represents an impressive 63.1% premium on its closing price back in January 19, and a 19% premium on its final closing price on April 14. Founded in 2003, Rovio achieved huge success with its iconic Angry Birds franchise and its presence extended from games to toys and cookbooks and even movies and TV shows.
This acquisition by Sega provides a great opportunity for the company to accelerate the development of its existing games, as well as create synergies between Sega and Rovio’s brands. Rovio’s expertise will also help Sega to expand its current and new games in more markets, particularly in Europe and North America. Additionally, Sega will leverage its cross-platform expertise to help Rovio expand beyond mobile gaming, which would include video game consoles and web browsers.
Haruki Satomi, the president and Group CEO of Sega Sammy Holdings, expressed his confidence that there would be significant synergies to be created from combination of the two companies’ brands, characters, fanbase, corporate culture and functionality. He added that the mobile gaming market had a lot of potential, and so this acquisition of Rovio was in line with Sega’s long-term plans to grow in this field.
Rovio is one of the biggest success stories to come out of the European technology industry. Founded by three entrepreneurs, it first gained fame with its mobile games, among which Angry Birds was most popular. It rolled out several sequels and spin-offs over the years, and its characters became hugely successful in the course of time.
Haruki Satomi is a Japanese businessman and the current president and Group CEO of Sega Sammy Holdings. He joined Sega on April 1999 and has been responsible for developing Sega’s entertainment and gaming products and establishing their strong international presence. He is credited with having been the driving force behind Sega’s “digital entertainment business” expansion strategy, which is believed to have opened up a new era in the gaming industry.
