Playtika acquires the Youda Games portfolio from Azerion

Israel-based mobile game developer Playtika has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Azerion’s Youda Games portfolio of games, including social card themed title Governor of Poker 3.

The deal ranges in price from an initial cash consideration of €81.3 million as well as an earnout based on the performance of the acquired business that could take the total consideration up to a maximum of €150 million.

“The acquisition of Youda Games’ card game portfolio, with its strong IP, is in line with Playtika’s strategic incremental growth approach of leveraging our unrivaled LiveOps expertise and proprietary technology stack to optimize and scale games, strengthening our market position,” said Craig Abrahams, President and Chief Financial Officer of Playtika. “We believe this acquisition will be accretive to our financial performance and is part of our strategy to acquire proven franchises where we can add value.”

Founded in 2014, Azerion is one of the biggest digital advertising and entertainment media platforms in Europe. The company, with its roots in Europe and its corporate office in Amsterdam, has commercial teams located in more than 26 countries worldwide.

“Over the past few years, we have transformed our business by scaling our digital advertising capabilities, developing our strategic portfolio of partner-led content and extending the presence and reach of our in-market commercial teams,” said Azerion Group’s Chief Revenue Officer Sebastiaan Moesman. 

“As a result of this dynamic shift towards our digital advertising platform, social card games have become less strategic for Azerion, whilst remaining an attractive investment opportunity for an industry partner such as Playtika. This divestment will further simplify our business and help us to continue investing in and delivering on our growth ambitions.”

The deal is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2023.