King Digital Entertainment is bought by video games company in a deal worth $5.9 billion.
The maker of Candy Crush Saga – King Digital Entertainment – has been acquired by video games company Activision Blizzard.
The $5.9 billion deal will significantly strengthen Activision Blizzard’s position in the mobile games space.
Meanwhile, King will be able to benefit from the video games company’s expertise in building brands. Its stable already includes the World of Warcraft and Call of Duty franchises.
It made its entry into the licensing space back in 2013, through a deal with Happy Socks, and since then has launched a range of sweets with Spun Candy and will make its publishing debut with Little Brown books.
King will continue to operate independently, led by chief executive Riccardo Zacconi.
He told Reuters that Activision appealed to him because of the company’s expertise in building long lasting franchises.
The deal is expected to be completed by spring 2016.
