Sega confirms it has agreed to acquire Rovio for €706 million
Followingreports late last week, Sega has confirmed it plans to acquire Angry Birds developer Rovio Entertainment.
In an official press release Sega Sammy Holdings stated that it plains to make a ‘Tender Offer’ to acquire “the entirety of Rovio’s outstanding shares and options”.
This will cost Sega a total of €706 million ($776 million), notably lower than the $1 billion reported by the Wall Street Journal at the weekend.
The acquisition is considered a ‘friendly takeover’, as Sega states that “Rovio’s board of directors has agreed to and expressed support towards the Tender Offer.
Sega expects to close the deal by “the second quarter of FY2024”, which means it should be complete by September 2023.
According to its statement, Sega has acquired the Angry Birds studio to bolster its own live service mobile game portfolio.
It wants to use “Rovio’s distinctive know-how in live service mobile game operation to bring Sega’s current and new titles to the global mobile gaming market, where there is large potential.”
At the same time, Sega also claims that Rovio wants to go beyond mobile games and wants to help it accomplish this.
“Rovio is aiming to expand its platform outside of mobile gaming, and Sega will actively look to support this process through its capabilities,” it says.
Sega Sammy Holdings president and group CEO Haruki Satomi said: “Among the rapidly growing global gaming market, the mobile gaming market has especially high potential, and it has been Sega’s long-term goal to accelerate its expansion in this field.
“I feel blessed to be able to announce such a transaction with Rovio, a company that owns Angry Birds, which is loved across the world, and home to many skilled employees that support the company’s industry leading
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