Angry Birds creator, Rovio will soon be reportedly acquired by Sega as they both are close to completing a deal that will make Sega the owner of our bellowed game. Following calls from multiple interested parties, the Finnish developer announced in February that Rovio had entered sales talks. Now, it appears that the company has a suitor in the form of Sega.
Since its initial release in 2009, Angry Birds has grown to become one of the most popular mobile games, inspiring numerous sequels and films.
More recently, Rovio Classics: Angry Birds was delisted from some platforms due to its apparent negative impact on the rest of Rovio’s gaming portfolio, which has resulted in some interesting developments for the developer. Fans have largely expressed their displeasure with this decision, and it’s unlikely that the company will reverse its decision soon. However, its upcoming new owner may have some intriguing implications.
According to a new Wall Street Journal report, Japan’s Sega is preparing to finalize a deal to purchase Rovio. It goes on to say that the Tokyo-based company is expected to pay around $1 billion for the Angry Birds creator, with the deal expected to close early next week. While this is not Sega’s first acquisition, if the deal goes through, Rovio will be one of the company’s largest and most notable acquisitions.
The announcement comes just months after Israeli gambling giant Playtika was in talks with Rovio to buy the company for €683 million ($750.96 million). At the time, Playtika claimed that acquiring Rovio’s intellectual property would add “tremendous” shareholder value to the company, owing to its monetization and logistical capabilities. However, Rovio announced last month that talks with Playtika had officially ended. Of course, Playtika wasn’t the only company interested in acquiring the Angry Birds creator at the time, with analysts naming EA, Take-Two, Sony, Netflix, and Disney as potential suitors.
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