The owner of the hit Angry Birds franchise, Rovio Entertainment is being bought by Japan’s SEGA Sammy Holdings for €706 million.
Announcing the deal earlier this morning (17 April), SEGA – which formed SEGA Sammy in 2004 following a merger with amusement arcade specialist, Sammy Corporation – said it aims to accelerate its growth in the global gaming market and increase its corporate value by ‘generating synergies’ between its existing businesses and Rovio’s strengths.
These include its global IPs and live-operated mobile game development capabilities.
The acquisition also gives Rovio the opportunity to expand its platform outside of mobile gaming, with SEGA actively looking to support this process through its capabilities.
“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,” commented Haruki Satomi, president and group ceo, representative director of SEGA Sammy Holdings. “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 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 at Rovio, continued: “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 honour 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.”
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