Potential $300 million purchase price for Innplay Labs by Playtika
Although Playtika has committed to paying $80.0m up front, the total price might end up being far higher due to a number of stipulations in the transaction.
No further details of the arrangement were made public, including a potential closing date. But Playtika did say that the usual closing requirements still apply to the proposed acquisition.
Water Ride, Brix Master, and Animal Kingdom are only a few of the titles developed by Innplay Labs, which was founded in 2019. Among the investors is Vgames, a venture capital firm that specialises in funding video game startups.
The acquisition will help with the "strategic" expansion of Playtika's portfolio, according to CEO Robert Antokol.
By acquiring Innplay Labs, Antokol has "adopted another strategic expansion of our portfolio with a promising and innovative growth franchise in the Luck Battle genre," he added.
We can put our knowledge of live operations and unique technology to use to create long-term growth, and this is just another chance for us to do so.
We share a culture of focus, speed, and agility with Innplay, another Israeli firm that has been acclaimed for innovation. Their amazing workforce is just like ours. We are thrilled to begin our adventure side by side with Innplay and rename Animals & Coins.
The formation of Innplay Labs in 2019 was driven by the ambition to shape the mobile gaming industry's future, according to Innplay CEO Ore Gilron. After four long years of hard work, our dedicated team of creative and competent game operators has finally delivered an exceptional game product packed with interesting and engaging content. Our players are in for a treat, as they have created something truly special.
"In the future, we see Innplay Labs reaching new heights as a result of joining Playtika's impressive roster of casual titles."
Playtika sees an uptick in buyouts
This is Playtika's second transaction of the quarter, and the arrangement marks their second major deal. The developer and Azerion reached an agreement last month for the developer to pay €81.3 million to buy the Youda Games content portfolio.
If all goes according to plan, Playtika will own the whole portfolio. Governor of Poker, a social card game, is one of many gambling-themed titles in the Youda Games library.
Assuming the usual closing conditions are satisfied, the transaction is expected to close by the third quarter's conclusion.
The Angry Birds series' creator, Rovio Entertainment, was also approached and rejected by Playtika earlier this year.
In November 2022, Playtika submitted a preliminary proposal; in January of 2023, it raised its offer. Playtika CEO Antokol has previously stated that Rovio's stockholders will benefit greatly from the transaction.
Nevertheless, Playtika announced in March that it would not be moving forward with negotiations and rescinded its offer. After receiving bids from Playtika and others, Rovio initiated a strategic assessment, which led to this development.
The acquisition of Rovio by Sega Sammy Holdings for €706.0 million was finalised in April. It outbid Playtika's offer of €9.05/share by offering €9.25/share instead.
Declining sales in Q2 don't dampen profits
This merger and acquisition activity occurred while Playtika had a mixed second quarter. In the three months ending 30 June, revenue dropped 2.5% year over year to $642.8m.
Despite a 3.7% increase for casual games and a 6.3% increase for Blitz Bingo, Playtika saw a 9.9% decline in revenue from social casino games. There was a decline of 1.0% to 307,000 average paying consumers per day. The average payer conversion, on the other hand, increased by 3.2%.
A 340.5% increase to $90.3m in comprehensive net profit was the result of expense reductions. Furthermore, the quarter's adjusted EBITDA jumped 6.7 percent to $215.0 million.
