Sega confirms it has agreed to acquire Rovio for €706 million

Following reports 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 mobile game development and operating capabilities.

“Historically, as represented by the Sonic the Hedgehog series, Sega has released countless video game titles to various gaming platforms. I am confident that, through combination of both companies’ brands, characters, fanbase, as well as corporate culture and functionality, there will be significant synergies created going forward.”

Further reading

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Rovio CEO Alexandre Pelletier-Normand added: “I grew up playing Sonic the Hedgehog, captivated by its state-of-the-art design. Later, when I played Angry Birds for the first time, I knew that gaming had evolved into a true mainstream phenomenon, with the power to shape modern culture.

“Joining Rovio has been an honour and I am proud to have seen Angry Birds continue to grow, as we released new games, series and films. Less known but equally impressive is our industry-leading proprietary technology platform, Beacon, holding 20 years of expertise, allowing tight-knit teams to develop world-class [service game] products.

“Our mission is to ‘Craft Joy’ and we are thrilled at the idea of using our expertise and tools to bring even more joy to our players, enhancing and expanding Rovio’s and SEGA’s vibrant IPs.”