Maya Robertson
Rovio Entertainment Corporation confirmed on Saturday that it is in discussions with Tokyo-based Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. regarding a possible acquisition.
On Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Sega is nearing a deal to acquire the Angry Birds maker for about $1 billion. In a press release confirming the discussions, Rovio said: “Rovio and Sega will release further information at an appropriate time. There is no certainty as to when the possible tender offer would take place or whether it would take place at all, nor as to the terms of such potential tender offer.”
“Rovio does not comment on valuation estimates presented in the media due to the ongoing discussions and there can be no assurance that such estimates would reflect the outcome of the discussions,” the mobile game maker said.
Rovio had received a preliminary offer from Israeli-based mobile game developer Playtika in January for 683 million euros ($750.96 million), but the Angry Birds creator acknowledged last month that negotiations had come to an end. Playtika has attracted fresh interest from buyout firms, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg.
Rovio’s hit title Angry Birds which was released in 2009, became the first mobile game to be downloaded 1 billion times and reached 5 billion downloads last year. Finland based Rovio went public in late 2017. According to the WSJ, the deal between Sega and Rovio is expected to finish early next week.
Over the last several years, Sega has bought a few companies, including Company of Heroes creator Relic Entertainment, Two Point Studios, and Atlus.
Rovio, on the other hand, announced the acquisition of Turkey-based hyper-casual game studio Ruby Games, in August 2021.
Rovio reported an annual revenue of €317.7 million in 2022. The revenue growth was mainly driven by Angry Birds 2 and Angry Birds Friends.
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