From speedy hedgehogs to Angry Birds… <\/p>
Sega has announced its intention to acquire Rovio, the company that is mainly known for developing the Angry Birds gaming franchise on mobile.<\/p>\n
The Japanese company Sega shot to prominence in the 1980s as one of the leading manufacturers of video game consoles alongside Nintendo, Sony and latterly Microsoft. However, since the Dreamcast was discontinued in 2001, Sega has focused on developing and publishing games for other company\u2019s systems.<\/p>\n
Sega\u2019s mascot, and arguably its biggest and best franchise, is Sonic the Hedgehog.<\/p>\n
Rovio is a Finnish company that has overseen the Angry Birds franchise since its inception in 2009. Although it has worked on other games as well, Rovio is very much known as the Angry Birds developer first and foremost.\u00a0The fowl-flinging games were so popular that two feature film adaptations have been made, releasing into cinemas in 2016 and 2019 respectively, as well as several animated TV shows.<\/p>
And now for the business bit! It has been announced that \u201cSEGA aims to acquire the entirety of Rovio\u2019s outstanding shares and options at EUR 9.25 per share and EUR 1.48 per option, or EUR 706 million in total\u201d. If you were wondering, by today\u2019s exchange rate, that would be around \u00a36.23 million here in the UK.<\/p>\n
This has been described in the press materials as \u201ca friendly takeover, as Rovio\u2019s board of directors has agreed to, and has expressed support towards the Tender Offer\u201d.<\/p>\n
The official announcement adds: \u201cSEGA aims to accelerate its growth in the global gaming market and increase its corporate value by generating synergies between SEGA\u2019s existing businesses and Rovio\u2019s strengths, including its global IPs and live-operated mobile game development capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n Sega went on to list \u201cRovio\u2019s distinctive know-how in live service mobile game operation\u201d as a key component here, as the Japanese company aims \u201cto bring SEGA\u2019s current and new titles to the global mobile gaming market, where there is large potential, and many users can be accessed\u201d.<\/p>\n Another reason listed for the deal is the \u201cexpansion of both companies\u2019 fanbase by sharing know-how regarding multi-media expansion of global characters\u201d. The fact is mentioned that both companies have expanded beyond gaming into other media such as movies.<\/p>\n Sega will also work with Rovio to \u201csupport cross-platform expansion of Rovio\u2019s IP using SEGA\u2019s capabilities\u201d, so it sounds like both companies will benefit in some ways off the back off this deal.<\/p>