Sega's acquisition of Angry Birds maker Rovio signals big move into mobile gaming market

The deal, worth $776 million, will be for the entirety of Rovio's outstanding shares and options, at a premium price of 9.25 euros per share. Rovio's board has expressed support for the offer.

The move is aimed at expanding Sega's presence in the mobile gaming market and using Rovio's live-operated mobile game development capabilities to enhance the development of mobile-based versions of its existing games, including the popular Sonic the Hedgehog and Total War franchises.

Rovio's Angry Birds franchise has been downloaded over 5 billion times and has been licensed into other entertainment and consumer products. The Wall Street Journal had previously reported that the Rovio deal was expected to be worth around $1 billion. However, with this deal worth less than expected, Rovio shares surged by 17.8% at 11:00 a.m. London time, while shares of Sega Sammy, the holding company of Sega, closed 4.2% lower on Monday before the acquisition was announced.

According to Sega Sammy's Group CEO, Haruki Satomi, "the mobile gaming market has especially high potential, and it has been SEGA's long-term goal to accelerate its expansion in this field." With the acquisition of Rovio, he is confident that there will be significant synergies created going forward, as both companies have globally recognized and iconic characters, a wide fan base, and complementary corporate cultures and functionalities.