Japanese gaming giant Sega to acquire Angry Birds maker Rovio in $776 million deal

Sega Sammy will launch its tender offer bid on May 8 and the deal is expected to close in the next few months subject to certain ‘customary conditions’.

According to news agency Reuters, Rovio’s shares were seen rising 18.8% in early European trading following the announcement. However, Sega Sammy’s shares fell 4.2% the day before the tender offer was announced, after the company revealed its plans to acquire Rovio.

Speaking about the acquisition in a statement, Haruki Satomi, president and CEO of Sega Sammy Holdings, said, “Historically, as evidenced by the ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ series, Sega has created countless video games for various gaming platforms. titles. I am confident that, through the combination of both companies’ brands, characters, fanbases, as well as corporate culture and functionality, significant synergies will be created going forward.”

“Our mission is ‘Craft Joy’ and we are thrilled with the idea of ​​using our expertise and tools to bring even more joy to our players,” Rovio CEO Alexandre Pelletier-Normand said in a statement about the acquisition. , Rovio and Sega are expanding and expanding their .live IP”

Earlier this year, Rovio received a takeover offer from Israeli Playtica Holding Corp, valued at 683 million euros. However, in March, Playtica announced that discussions regarding the acquisition had ended.

Launched in 2009, Angry Birds quickly became a global phenomenon. But by 2014 the franchise started to lose momentum. The popular game also created a world record by becoming the first mobile game to be downloaded 1 billion times.

Despite mixed reviews from critics, the first Angry Birds film, released in 2016, was a major commercial success, grossing over $350 million worldwide. However, the second film failed to replicate the success of its predecessor.