Following a whirlwind of rumors from last week, SEGA announced today it is implementing a tender offer to acquire the Finnish mobile game company Rovio Entertainment, widely known for its Angry Birds games.
The deal includes the acquisition of all of Rovio's outstanding shares and options at €9.25 per share and €1.48 per option, for a total of €706 million. The press release clarifies it is a friendly takeover since Rovio's board agreed to the offer and is actively supporting it. SEGA and Rovio expect the acquisition to close in Q2 FY 2024/3.
SEGA also explained the rationale behind the investment. Within the overall gaming market growth, the mobile market is the fastest-growing segment. The Japanese company seeks to take advantage of Rovio's mobile and live operations expertise to quicken the development of mobile versions of SEGA's prized IPs. Interestingly, the press release also mentions Rovio seeking to expand beyond mobile gaming, so perhaps a triple-A Angry Birds game for PC and console may be on the cards.
Haruki Satomi, President and Group CEO of SEGA, stated:
Among the rapidly growing global gaming market, the mobile gaming market has especially high potential, and it has been SEGA’s long-term goal to accelerate its expansion in this field. I feel blessed to be able to announce such a transaction with Rovio, a company that owns “Angry Birds”, which is loved across the world, and home to many skilled employees that support the company’s industry-leading mobile game development and operating capabilities. Historically, as represented by the “Sonic the Hedgehog” series, SEGA has released countless video game titles to various gaming platforms. I am confident that, through the combination of both companies’ brands, characters, fanbase, as well as corporate culture and functionality, there will be significant synergies created going forward.
Alexandre Pelletier-Normand, CEO of Rovio, added:
I grew up playing Sonic the Hedgehog, captivated by its state-of-the-art design. Later, when I played Angry Birds for the first time, I knew that gaming had evolved into a true mainstream phenomenon, with the power to shape modern culture.
Joining Rovio has been an honor, and I am proud to have seen Angry Birds continue to grow as we released new games, series, and films. Less known but equally impressive is our industry-leading proprietary technology platform, Beacon, holding 20 years of expertise, allowing tight-knit teams to develop world-class GaaS products.
Our mission is to ‘Craft Joy,’ and we are thrilled at the idea of using our expertise and tools to bring even more joy to our players, enhancing and expanding Rovio’s and SEGA’s vibrant IPs.
Red and Sonic the Hedgehog: two globally recognized and iconic characters made by two remarkably complementary companies, with a worldwide reach that spans mobile, PC/console, and beyond. Combining the strengths of Rovio and SEGA presents an incredibly exciting future.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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