Activision-Blizzard had bought King in 2016 for $ 5.9 billion, now another major video game publisher is doing the same with its main competitor. Today we learn that Take-Two Interactive, parent company of Rockstar games, 2K Games, Private Division, Ghost story games, Social Point and Playdots, will acquire Zynga, one of the leaders in mobile device development.
The developer and publisher has made a specialty of games for smartphones and applications Facebook : we owe him classics including Farmville, Words With Friends, Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells Where Zynga Poker. He was looking to diversify his activities lately, especially with Star Wars: Hunters, a free-to-play coming to Switch. Zynga will now operate under the bosom of Take-Two Interactive following the announcement of the repurchase of all its outstanding shares for a total of $ 12.7 billion.
“We are delighted to announce our transformative transaction with Zynga, which significantly diversifies our business and establishes our leadership position in mobile, the fastest growing segment of the interactive entertainment industry,” said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman and CEO of Take-Two. “This strategic combination brings together our best console and PC franchises, with a diverse and market-leading mobile publishing platform that has a rich history of innovation and creativity. Zynga also has a very talented and deeply experienced team, and we look forward to welcoming them to the Take-Two family in the coming months. As we combine our complementary businesses and operate on a much larger scale, we believe we will bring significant value to both groups of shareholders ”.
“Combining Zynga’s expertise in mobile and next-gen platforms with Take-Two’s cutting-edge capabilities and intellectual property will allow us to advance our mission of connecting the world through games while achieving together significant growth and synergies, ”said Frank Gibeau, CEO of Zynga. “I am proud of the hard work of our team to end 2021 strong, with one of the best performances in Zynga history. We are extremely happy to have found a partner in Take-Two who shares our commitment to invest in our players, amplify our creative culture and generate more shareholder value. With this transformative transaction, we begin a new journey that will allow us to create even better games, reach larger audiences, and achieve significant growth as a leader of the next era of gaming. ”
The transaction is not finalized and a last minute reversal cannot be ruled out as long as it is the case, but the objective is clear on both sides: mix the knowledge of Zynga in the mobile market with the many strong licenses of Take-two in order to take a more substantial place in the smartphone and tablet market. This desire will probably take a few years before becoming concrete, but it is now engraved in the rock following this buyout at a high price.
| Auxance Editor | ||
| Favorite editor of your favorite editor since 2009, passionate about booming music, fan of comic series of all kinds. I have played Pokémon a little too much in my life. | ||
| Follow me : |  | |
