Angry Birds creator Rovio Entertainment will be purchased by video game maker Sega for $776 million in a deal that has been officially announced. Sega Sammy Holdings, the parent company of Sega, stated in a formal press release that it will make a tender offer to buy “the entirety of Rovio’s outstanding shares and options,” and that it anticipates the transaction to be finished by Q2 of the 2024 fiscal year.
The board of directors of Rovio unanimously decided to suggest that the company’s shareholders and option holders accept the offer, according to a statement from Rovio. “The board of directors of Rovio, represented by a quorum comprising all members of the board of directors, has agreed to recommend that the shareholders and option holders of Rovio accept the offer,” the statement read. Early May will see the release of more information on the offer, and the third quarter of 2023 is when it is anticipated to close, subject to regulatory approval.
The transaction, which is being referred to as a “friendly takeover” and has the full support of Rovio’s board of directors, is expected to occur around September. Sega claims that by acquiring Rovio, it will be able to improve the selection of mobile games it offers while also using its knowledge of video game consoles to aid Rovio’s growth outside of mobile platforms. Sega said that it would actively seek to use its talents to support Rovio’s effort to broaden its platform beyond mobile games.
All games from Rovio for play
As “a global mobile-first games company” that creates and publishes mobile games as well as licenses the “Angry Birds” name for consumer goods, movies, and animations, Rovio promotes itself as “a global mobile-first games company.” These include Sony’s Columbia Pictures’ 2016 release of “The Angry Birds Movie” and its 2019 follow-up. According to Rovio, 5 billion downloads have been made of its games.
- Angry Birds Friends
- Angry Friends 2
- Angry Birds Dream Blast
- Angry Birds Space
- Bad Piggies
“Rovio has a mobile games management platform Beacon, which provides a very effective way of making user acquisition investments to generate returns and develop the games,” Stenvall said over the phone. “In addition to the brand, the games, and its multiple studios.” “Sega can benefit from that asset without a doubt.” Investors have been concerned about Rovio’s reliance on Angry Birds, so the company has tried to diversify its portfolio with other brands and game genres.
In order to expand in the hyper-casual and puzzle game markets, it has “a few” new games in development and has bought smaller rivals and game studios. The wildly popular Angry Birds franchise serves as the foundation of Rovio’s business. The branded mobile games account for more than 80% of its gross bookings since they were first made available in app stores in 2009.
What other studios does Sega own?
Sega owns TMS Entertainment, an animation studio, the developers of Two Point Hospital and Two Point Campus, the Two Point Studios, Sports Interactive, the developer of the Football Manager series, Relic Entertainment, the creators of Company of Heroes, Warhammer 40k, and the developers of Age of Empires IV, Creative Assembly, the developers of Alien: Isolation and the Total War series. Rovio will be under the Sega banner by September of 2023.
Nintendo and Sega have been partners since 1976, when Sega released Wild Gunman and Shooting Trainer in North America. The two were rivals in a battle for home gaming until Sega withdrew from the home gaming console market in 2001. Sega Sammy Holdings is the owner of both Sega and Sammy. According to Sega, there are three main areas where the two companies can work together.
In Other News:
— RegularCapital (@RegularTweetsUK) April 17, 2023
‘Angry Birds’ Games Studio Rovio Agrees to $776 Million Sega Takeover
Source: Variety pic.twitter.com/t7FZYQ9fte
Among them are the use of Rovio’s expertise in live service mobile game operation (and its highly regarded Beacon platform) to bring Sega’s current and new games to the world’s mobile gaming market, the quick growth of both companies’ fan bases through knowledge sharing and the multi-media expansion of global characters, and the cross-platform expansion of Rovio’s IP using Sega Corporation’s capabilities.
The documents made public on Monday stated that although Sega will appoint members to the board of directors, it is not anticipated that the acquisition will have any immediate effects on Rovio’s operations, assets, staff, or management. In Finland, Rovio will continue to operate. When Rovio was still a privately held company in 2017, it was reported that China’s Tencent made a $3 billion takeover offer. The strategy was never verified.