Sega Sammy to buy Angry Birds maker Rovio for $776 million

Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings Inc said on Monday it planned to acquire Finland’s Rovio Entertainment Oyj, maker of popular mobile phone game Angry Birds, for $776 million (€706 million) to spur its growth in the fast-expanding global mobile gaming market.

Sega Sammy will offer €9.25 for each share of the company, a 19% premium over Friday’s closing price, in its tender offer bid set to be launched around May 8.

“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,” Sega Sammy chief executive officer Haruki Satomi said in a statement. “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.”

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Sega Sammy was nearing a deal to buy the Finnish firm for about $1 billion.

Ahead of the official announcement, shares of Sega Sammy, which offers the action game series “Sonic the Hedgehog”, closed down 4.2% in a broader market that was virtually unchanged.

Sega Sammy shares came under pressure after the company said on Monday morning that it was considering acquiring Rovio amid investor doubts about synergy prospects.

“Sega Sammy’s mobile gaming business is centred on the domestic market, while ‘Angry Birds’ is well known overseas. The acquisition would make it easier for Sega Sammy to grow globally,” Toyo Securities analyst Hideki Yasuda said.

“But there has been no big hit (from Rovio) other than Angry Birds, which was originally launched more than 10 years ago. The news would have been welcomed more positively if investors had seen newer technologies or more growth potentials,” Yasuda said.

Rovio received a €683-million takeover bid in January from Israeli peer Playtika Holding Corp, but the talks were called off last month.