It was Tripledot?! What the UK studio's acquisition of AppLovin's games business means

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Another week, another big deal has been announced, this time catching the industry by surprise.

When AppLovin announced it was going to sell its games business, speculation was rife on the contenders. Savvy Games Group became a front-runner as it looks to grow its footprint in games and increase its development and publishing operations.

Other names floated: Miniclip, Playtika, Tencent.

Turns out it’s none of the above. Business Insider reports that the mystery buyer is London studio Tripledot, the company behind titles such as Woodoku, Solitaire and Triple Tile. PocketGamer.biz had also heard the buyer was a private, London-based company. We had reached out to Tripledot, but did not receive any comment.

The developer flies under the radar, but it’s one of the UK’s most successful mobile games companies, valued at $1.6 billion during its last fund raise. We ranked it at 24th in the PocketGamer.biz Top 50 Mobile Game Makers 2024 list and 11th in the Top 50 UK Game Makers 2025 list.

Its founders have extensive industry experience, with former president Akin Babayigit, who remains on the board, called a “mobile gaming Kingpin” by Bloomberg on the news of his $100m fund Arcadia Gaming Advisors.

Transformative deal

Any deal for AppLovin’s games business would prove transformative for Tripledot, with the acquisition worth more than half its last public valuation. Lion Studios appears the best match, complimenting its ads revenue-driven business and bringing more scale. Meanwhile, other games and partner studios like Belka and Magic Tavern would see it gaining more expertise in titles driven by in-app purchases.

Whether there’s room for all the studios in the deal remains to be seen. Does a developer like Machine Zone with its midcore and 4X strategy games fit in with Tripledot’s casual focus?

From AppLovin’s side, it appears desperate to sell off its games division and instead focus on its much more profitable and fast-growing ads business. As we reported earlier in the week, the deal will see the company sell its games operations for $500m in cash and $400m in shares of the buyer’s common equity.

If the acquirer is indeed Tripledot, it is set to borrow up to $250m in cash. However, if it’s unable to obtain that money, AppLovin will provide financing through the issuance of a promissory note.

AppLovin, then, has a heavy investment in the buyer’s future success.

It’s also worth remembering that ads companies owning competing publishing businesses to their customers has been a controversial practice. One top developer previously told me years ago it cancelled its partnership with an ads firm after it became a competitor.

AppLovin uncoupling itself from its games division removes that potential conflict of interest. Though strangely it’ll now own a significant stake in another games company filled with the same studios.

Next up in the M&A space – Will Savvy Games Group-owned Scopely officially announce its reported $3.5 billion deal for Niantic’s games business?

This industry never ceases to surprise.

Gain more insights into the M&A space on the Show Me The Money track at Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco on March 17th to 18th.

The panel 'Gaming M&A & Financings – Outlook For 2025 & Beyond' will provide analysis and opinion on the the investment and M&A landscape, featuring Wiggin’s Ciaran Hickey, Transcend Fund’s Andrew Sheppard, The Games Fund’s Maria Kochmola, Drake Star Partners’ Michael Metzger, and Com2uS USA’s Michael Lee.