Sega Sammy Holdings of Japan intends to purchase Rovio Entertainment of Finland, the maker of the well-known mobile game Angry Birds. To grow its mobile gaming sector, Sega Sammy is poised to pay $776 million to acquire the Finnish firm. The shares of Rovio rose as a result of this development.
Sega Sammy CEO Haruki Satomi said, "In 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.”
The tender offer was accepted by the Rovio board of directors, indicating that this was a friendly takeover, according to the release. The launch of the tender offer bid is scheduled for around May 8. According to a report from Reuters, Sega Sammy would make an offer of 9.25 euros for each share, representing a 19% premium over Friday's closing price.
According to the article, Rovio stock increased as much as 18.8% in early European trading. Sega Sammy shares, meanwhile, fell 4.2% as a result of market scepticism on potential synergy.
Rovio CEO Alexandre Pelletier-Normand said that the combination of strengths of Rovio and Sega “presents an incredibly exciting future”. This development follows a failed $683 million euro purchase attempt in January by the Israeli company Playtika Holding Corp.
