Playtika bids to acquire Rovio

Playtika announced on Thursday that it has made an offer to acquire Angry Birds maker Rovio for EUR 9.05 per share in cash, putting the total offer at about €750 million ($810 million). 

The price represents about 60% higher than the company’s closing price on January 19. It also represents an improvement over an initial EUR 8.50 per share proposal submitted November 16, 2022.

“We firmly believe the combination of Rovio’s renowned IP and scale of its user base, together with our best-in-class monetization and game operations capabilities, will create tremendous value for our shareholders,” said Playtika Chief Executive Officer Robert Antokol.

Playtika’s acquisition offer, which laid off 600 employees last month, comes in a series of downsizing for the company. Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Herzliya, Israel, the company is the maker of casino-style games and apps for poker and solitaire.

Rovio went public in September 2017 for a price of $11.50. Despite efforts to diversify its portfolio with acquisitions like Turkish hyper-casual game studio Ruby Games in 2021, the company’s growth remains heavily dependent on the Angry Birds franchise.

At this time, no agreement has been made between Playtika and Rovio, and there is no guarantee that any transaction will take place or be eventually completed.