“Video game maker Activision Blizzard Inc. said it will buy ‘Candy Crush Saga’ creator King Digital Entertainment for $5.9 billion to strengthen its mobile games portfolio,” Supriya Kurane and Liana Baker report for Reuters.
“ABS Partners CV, a unit of Activision Blizzard, will acquire King shares for $18 each in cash, representing a premium of 16 percent to King’s closing price on Monday,” Kurane and Baker report. “The fast-growing mobile gaming segment is expected to generate more than $36 billion in revenue by the end of 2015, according to Activision. Activision Blizzard Chief Executive Bobby Kotick told Reuters that buying King will help broaden the reach of its games and expand into new demographics, adding that 60 percent of King’s players are female and that no gaming consoles or hardware, besides a phone, is needed to play King’s games.”
“Activision, which owns popular game franchises such as ‘World of Warcraft,’ ‘Call of Duty,’ and ‘Diablo,’ said the deal gives the combined company more than 500 million monthly active users across the world and would add to Activision’s estimated 2016 adjusted revenue and earnings by about 30 percent,” Kurane and Baker report. “Dublin, Ireland-based King will continue to operate as an independent operating unit led by Chief Executive Riccardo Zacconi. Zacconi told Reuters that Activision appealed to him because of the company’s expertise in building long-lasting franchises.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Anyone still playing Candy Crush (or any other “Sagas” from King)?
SEE ALSO:
Candy Crush maker King Digital shares sour in market debut – March 26, 2014
‘Candy Crush Saga’ maker King files for $500 million IPO – February 18, 2014
Apple says ‘Candy Crush Saga’ was App Store standout in 2013 – December 18, 2013
Hooked on Candy Crush Saga? King.com gets gameplayers to pay – October 8, 2013
Candy what?
“Zacconi told Reuters that Activision appealed to him because of the company’s willingness to write an almost $6 billion check”
Complete fools.
Hopefully they will buy it and wipe it off the face of this earth for making a game so mediocre. at least that is my wish for a game company that makes good games and feels insulted by candy crush.
What an intensely sad waste of money. Who convinced you to pull this boner, Activision Blizzard? It bodes poorly regarding your business savvy, IMHO.
Glad I don’t own any stock in Activision Blizzard.