Mon, Nov 09, 2009 | 15:17 GMT
EA purchases Playfish for $300 million
EA has bought social games firm Playfish for $300 million.
It was bought with $275 million in cash, and $25 million in a equity retention arrangement. They will operate under the EA Interactive division.
“Social gaming, with its emphasis on friends and community, is seeing tremendous growth and this is the right time to invest to strengthen our participation in this space,” SVP and GM of EA Interactive Barry Cottle said.
“The industry is undergoing dramatic transformation and joining EA is the ideal opportunity for us to push forward our goals to lead in the social entertainment evolution on a faster and much larger scale,” said Playfish CEO and co-founder Kristian Segerstrale.
Find more over at Develop.
5 comments
#1
blackdreamhunk
09/11/09, 3:19 pm
that is smart move on EA part.
#2
deftangel
09/11/09, 3:25 pm
Also a cheap one, in my opinion. I’d be a bit concerned if I was Zynga.
#3
M337ING
09/11/09, 3:33 pm
300 million? Jeez, EA has a lot of cash to throw around… Who knows, they might regain #1 publisher status soon…
#4
Phoenixblight
09/11/09, 4:22 pm
@3 Very possible considering Activision sales are starting to drop with one of their main franchises (Guitar Hero) but than again Call of Duty…. I wonder how long that cash cow will last.
#5
OlderGamer
09/11/09, 4:27 pm
@Phoenix depends if they keep doing 70usd yearly releases with 30usd in addons. If they keep that up CoD will go the way of Tony Hawk and soon Hero Games.