EA acquires Glu Mobile for a hefty $2.1bn
Sticking together.
It's up there with some of the biggest gaming acquisitions in history, but until today you might never heard of Glu Mobile. Well, Glu sure has EA interested, as EA has acquired the American developer for a cool $2.1bn (£1.52bn).
If the name hadn't already given it away, Glu Mobile has a number of highly successful mobile franchises in its portfolio, including Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, Diner Dash, MLB Tap Sports Baseball, Covet Fashion, Disney Sorcerer's Arena and more. It describes itself as "the leader in 3D freemium mobile gaming", and it seems this is what caught EA's attention.
"Our acquisition of Glu combines amazing teams and deeply-engaging products to create a mobile games leader with proven expertise across many fast-growing genres," EA CEO Andrew Wilson said in a press release. "Mobile continues to grow as the biggest gaming platform in the world, and with the addition of Glu's games and talent, we're doubling the size of our mobile business. With a deep IP portfolio and an expanding global audience, we'll deliver more exciting experiences for our players and drive further growth for Electronic Arts."
The press release also reveals EA and Glu's mobile portfolios, when combined, include "more than 15 top live services across fast-growing genres with a combined $1.32bn (£958m) in bookings over the last twelve months". EA also believes its sports IPs and distribution capabilities will combine well with Glu's expertise in creating and monetising sports and casual mobile games.
If all goes to plan, the deal should close during the quarter ending 31st June. Although the deal doesn't quite reach the dizzying heights of the $7.5bn Microsoft acquisition of ZeniMax (which is due an EU ruling by 5th March), the Glu Mobile deal is close to Microsoft's acquisition of Mojang in 2014 (for $2.5bn or £1.81bn) and pricier than Facebook's 2014 acquisition of Oculus VR for $2bn (£1.45bn). Still, I'd say $2.1bn is nothing to sniff at.