Video game developer Activision Blizzard has announced that it has struck a deal to acquire King Digital Entertainment, the interactive gaming company behind the ‘Candy Crush Saga’ brand, for $5.9 billion (€5.4 billion).
Activision Blizzard unit ABS Partners will purchase King shares for $18 each in cash, which represents a premium of 16% to King’s closing price yesterday (Monday).
The Activision Blizzard and King board have both voted to unanimously approve the acquisition, although the agreement remains subject to approval by King’s shareholders and the Irish High Court, as well as clearances by relevant antitrust authorities and other customary closing conditions.
Activision Blizzard and King expect the deal to go through by spring 2016.
“The combined revenues and profits solidify our position as the largest, most profitable standalone company in interactive entertainment,” Activision Blizzard chief executive Bobby Kotick said.
“With a combined global network of more than half a billion monthly active users, our potential to reach audiences around the world on the device of their choosing enables us to deliver great games to even bigger audiences than ever before.”
Riccardo Zacconi, chief executive of King, added: “We believe that the acquisition will position us very well for the next phase of our company’s evolution and will bring clear benefits to our players and employees.
“We will combine our expertise in mobile and free-to-play with Activision Blizzard’s world-class brands and proven track record of building and sustaining the most successful franchises, to bring the best games in the world to millions of players worldwide.
“We have two teams that, together, will have an amazing footprint, innovative technology, and leadership across platforms, and unique, established IPs to delight one of the largest networks of players in the world.”
The deal comes as Activision Blizzard revealed better-than-expected financial results for the third quarter of 2015.
GAAP net revenue came in at $960 million, up from $753 million posted in the same period last year and the $875 million forecast by the company.
Earnings per share increased from a loss of $0.03 in Q3 of 2014 to a positive of $0.17 in the most recent period
Kotick added: “Mobile gaming is the largest and fastest-growing opportunity for interactive entertainment and we will have one of the world’s most successful mobile game companies and its talented teams providing great content to new customers, in new geographies throughout the world.
“King has a truly fantastic management team and over 1,600 incredibly talented employees and we are excited to welcome them into the Activision Blizzard family.”
