Rovio, the producer of Angry Birds games, was purchased by the Japanese game giant Sega, which we know from Sonic games.
Sega, one of the most established and well-known companies in the game world, announced that it has purchased Rovio, another mobile game giant we know from Angry Birds games. The news of this acquisition became official shortly after the news emerged that Japanese-based gaming giant Sega Sammy Holdings was preparing to buy Rovio and sacrificed a billion dollars. It has been announced that Sega will pay 706 million Euros for Finland-based Rovio Entertainment.
Sega buys Angry Birds producer Rovio for 706 million euros
Angry Birds, as you know, managed to make a big splash and became the first mobile game to be downloaded more than a billion times. Rovio also released two movies for this successful brand. Although the sequels of the series have come, we can say that they are overshadowed by that debut period.
This naturally made Rovio a potential takeover target for gaming industry companies. As of last year, Rovio, which has approximately 550 employees in eight game studios around the world, also reported that the number of downloads of all its games exceeded five billion.
Announcing the acquisition, Sega explained that the decision to buy Rovio was due to the need to “strengthen its position” in the global gaming market. It is stated that the mobile game market is expected to reach $263.3 billion by 2026 and the rate of mobile games to increase to 56%.
In short, Sega will strengthen its hand on the mobile side with this acquisition, and there will probably be the possibility of creating different collaborations with the brands it has. In addition, Rovio’s live support units in America and Europe will also benefit from the statements made.
Haruki Satomi, CEO of Sega Sammy Holdings, said, “Within the rapidly growing global gaming market, the mobile gaming market has particularly high potential and Sega’s long-term goal has been to accelerate its expansion in this space. “I feel lucky to be able to announce such an acquisition with Rovio, which is home to many talented employees supporting industry-leading mobile game development and business capabilities.”
Rovio’s revenues increased from €272.3 million in 2020 to €317.7 million in 2022, but its operating profit fell from €42.5 million to €28.6 million in the same period. At the end of Friday’s trading, Rovio’s stock market value was $707 million.