Electronic Arts hooks Playfish
2009-11-10 09:08
Washington - US videogame publisher Electronic Arts announced on Monday it has acquired London-based social network game maker Playfish in a deal that could be worth up to $400m.
EA said it had bought Playfish, which makes games for Facebook, MySpace and other social networks, for $275m in cash and $25m in equity retention arrangements for employees.
In addition, the Redwood City, California-based EA said it will pay up to $100m if the privately held Playfish reaches certain perfomance milestones through December 31, 2011.
"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," said Barry Cottle, senior vice president and general manager of EA Interactive.
"With the addition of proven expertise from Playfish, their broad consumer base and strong game brands, we're moving ahead aggressively in our plans to lead in the category of cross-platform social entertainment," he added.
Kristian Segerstrale, co-founder and chief executive of Playfish, said "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."
Playfish boasts more than 60 million monthly active players for its 10 titles which include popular Facebook games such as Pet Society, Restaurant City, and Country Story.
Popular EA titles include Rock Band, Madden NFL10 and The Sims.
EA shares were 1.68% higher in early trading in New York at $19.32.
- SAPA