Another Billion-dollar Takeover Has Become a Fact [UPDATE]
According to the latest reports, Rovio Entertainment, creators of the Angry Birds series, will most likely be acquired by Sega.
Update #2: We now know the finale of the business talks for the acquisition of Rovio by Sega Sammy. As it turns out, the Finnish studio will be acquired by the Japanese for about $775 million.. As we read in the official statement:
"SEGA intends to leverage Rovio's live-service expertise to bring 'current and new SEGA titles to the global mobile game market' and expand the company's operations in the context of media other than PC games."
Update #1: Rovio has confirmed that it is in acquisition talks with Sega Sammy. The Japanese point out that no binding decisions have yet been made. This is reportedly expected to change later today.
According to the reputable daily The Wall Street Journal, Sega is close to acquiring Finnish studio Rovio Entertainment, the company that owns the Angry Birds series - for the impressive sum of $1 billion. According to journalist sources, the Japanese may close the deal as early as the beginning of the upcoming week.
The offer reportedly came after Rovio broke off negotiations with Israel's Playtika, which had proposed around $750 million.
Angry Birds hardly needs to be introduced to anyone. It is, of course, one of the most popular mobile game series of the past decade. The first title, involving shooting the titular angry birds towards fortifications of green pigs, appeared in 2009 on mobile devices and instantly won the hearts of players around the world. At the height of its popularity, the universe lived to see not only a number of sequels or spin-offs, but also TV shows and animated films.
Unfortunately, in recent years the series has been steadily falling into oblivion, so Sega's alleged move may seem a bit surprising.
