Nexon acquires Japanese dev gloops in $470 million deal

Little over nine months after Nexon merged with Nexon Mobile to strengthen its assault on smartphones, the Korean free-to-play publisher has acquired Japanese developer gloops in a near $470 million deal.

The company has claimed the purchase is designed to accelerate its mobile strategy, handing it "immediate exposure to Japan's large and fast growing mobile market."

Mobage move

Indeed, Nexon's move for gloops comes a matter of days after the developers signed an agreement with DeNA to deliver 11 games to the social giant's Mobage platform.

"Gloops has established itself as one of the premier mobile game developers in the world and a key player in one of our most important growth areas, with a robust portfolio of hit titles and a strong track record of driving market innovation," said Nexon president and CEO Seungwoo Choi.

"We look forward to leveraging gloops’ outstanding capabilities and scale to expand the Nexon game experience to users on mobile platforms worldwide."

Global game

Gloops launch its first game back in early 2009, taking to DeNA's Mobage for the first time a year later. Based in Tokyo, the company also has offices in both San Francisco and Vietnam.

The firm which is rated as one of the most prominent on Mobage in Japan is best known for social card battle games such as Japan Pro Baseball Card Battle, as well as more 'core' releases such as Warriors of Odin and Three Kingdoms Guild Battle.

Nexon acquired all outstanding common shares in gloops for a total of ¥3.65 billion equal to around $467.9 million - in a move "unanimously approved by the board of directors of each company."

For gloops' part, company president Shinsuke Kawakata said the developers was "thrilled to become a part of the Nexon family."

He added, "Providing compelling games for mobile users has always been our passion, and we look forward to being a part of an even larger organisation as we work to continue bringing new and exciting titles to a growing base of players around the world."

[source: BusinessWire]