The Wall Street Journal has reported on a deal that is set to be sealed early next week for Rovio Entertainment, the studio behind the Angry Birds franchise, to be purchased by Sega for an estimated $1 billion.
Angry Birds originally launched in 2009 on both iOS and Android to huge success, being the first franchise to be downloaded 1 billion times and spawning a franchise which included spin-offs and movies. However, in recent years, Rovio has struggled to replicate the success of the original.
The original Angry Birds has gone through various iterations and changes over the years as Rovio sought to increase income from their newer games, which supported in-app purchases more common with modern mobile gaming.
Rovio itself went public in late 2017 in an attempt to boost their growth plans. However, this failed to provide any fruit, resulting in the company being susceptible to purchase by its rivals.
Rovio has previously been in talks to sell to a key mobile game competitor, Playtika Holding Corp., for more than $800 million, however, talks between the companies fell through in March this year without any deal being made.
Source: Wall Street Journal
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