As has been rumoured all day, it's now been confirmed that EA Mobile has bought UK mobile publisher Chillingo.
"By acquiring Chillingo, EA Mobile is increasing its market leadership on the Apple Platform as well as reaffirming its position as the world's leading wireless entertainment publisher," EA Interactive's PR director Holly Rockwood said in a statement to Reuters.
No surprise there. What is surprising is the price - rumoured by Reuters to be 'only' be $20 million.
This follows on from sources suggesting a valuation from $80 - 200 million. Even PocketGamer.biz postulated circa $100 million.
Price of everything, value of nothing
EA hasn't confirmed the price yet so there's still some speculation involved.
But $20 million in cash isn't necessarily a low deal for a company that publishes a lot of iPhone games, but doesn't develop any, and only has limited rights in terms of publishing those titles on other platforms, whether it be Android, Windows Phone 7 or Java.
For example, Rovio, which publishes Angry Birds though Chillingo on iPhone, has self published the Android version and a new Halloween game for iPhone and iPad.
Anyhow, with such purchases, the devil is always in the details, with the mix of cash and shares, and bonuses based on future performance typically grouped together to create a headline figure - something we've most recently seen in the DeNA-ngmoco deal.
That said, what is clear is that the mobile gaming space is currently hot, and there are plenty more deals in the offering.
Check out our Opinion: The ten next best acquisitions in mobile gaming (technically now nine) - for more pointers.
[source: Reuters]
News
Contributing Editor
A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon is Contributing Editor at PG.biz which means he acts like a slightly confused uncle who's forgotten where he's left his glasses. As well as letters and cameras, he likes imaginary numbers and legumes.
Related Articles
News
Feb 20th, 2017
Chillingo pulls Nexus Heroes and Sniper Deathmatch from App Store after three months of soft launch
Top Stories
News
3 hours, 46 minutes ago
Tekore Studio emerges from the shadows to win the Very Big Indie Pitch at the Dubai GameExpo Summit
News
4 hours, 1 minute ago
Dubai GameExpo Summit powered by PG Connects welcomes over 1,350 attendees in 2024
Feature
5 hours, 41 minutes ago
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from a round of roguelikes to a Sonic surprise
News
May 9th, 2024
A third of developers implementing new payment options in face of Digital Markets Act’s $18 billion opportunity
Events
Valencia Indie Summit 2024 | Europe | May 16th |
Digital Dragons | Europe | May 19th |
GamesBeat Summit 2024 | North America | May 20th |
Mobidictum Meetup Tallinn May 2024 | Europe | May 21st |
Nordic Game Spring 2024 | Nordic | May 21st |
Impact 2024 - Indie Games | May 23rd | |
Israel Mobile Summit 2024 | Middle East | Jun 6th |
Future Games Show 2024 | Jun 8th |