Given EA CEO John Riccitiello has spent much of his time in the wake of the firm's acquisition of PopCap explaining the studio was hot property, the suggestion the publishing giant wasn't the only party bidding for the house that Bejeweled built is no great surprise.
An unnamed source claiming to have been 'close to the deal' says social gaming star Zynga was one of two rival PopCap bidders, and was prepared to pay just short of $1 billion for the business.
In reply, however, PopCap shunned the move to take up EA's offer, deeming it 'potentially more lucrative'.
A tale of two billions
Though $1.35 billion is the headline figure quoted in reference to the buyout, EA's offer for PopCap was actually far more complex than that.
The publisher has paid out an initial $650 million in cash for the studio, as well as an additional $100 million in EA stock.
The rest comes down to earnout, structured over a two year period and accounted by "certain non-GAAP earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) performance milestones through December 2013."
In short, to take the figure up to $1.35 billion, PopCap will need to generate more than $343 million EBIT in this period.
No contest
In contrast, Zynga is reported to have been looking to finance the deal with a line of credit from Goldman Sachs one of the lead bankers behind Zynga's recent initial public offering (IPO).
Said source also claims Chinese internet portal service Tencent named as a potential suitor when news of a PopCap buyout first came to light had also offered an initial bid for the firm, but the final fight was squarely between EA and Zynga.
[source: Forbes]
News
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.
Related Articles
News
Jun 10th, 2024
Star Wars: Hunters ranked No. 1 for App Store game downloads in the US, UK and Canada on launch day
Feature
Jun 10th, 2024
Hot Five: Squad Busters’ supercharged launch, Pokémon’s record revenue, and Star Wars: Hunters finally hits the target
News
Jun 9th, 2024
PocketGamer.biz Podcast Week in Mobile Games E15 - Star Wars: Hunters finally launches, the West's MOBA problem, and Xbox handheld rumours
Top Stories
News
6 hours, 54 minutes ago
Red Games Co's Brian Lovell on their Apple Design Award Win: “Inclusivity was a focus from the beginning"
News
Jun 11th, 2024
App Store developers can start nominating their games for featuring later this year
Feature
5 hours, 38 minutes ago
Mobile Mavens: Are today's everlasting, live ops games holding back new innovation?
Feature
7 hours, 6 minutes ago
The key takeaway from Apple's AI-laden WWDC keynote? It's time to buy a new iPhone
Events
Tribeca Games Festival 2024 | North America | Jun 5th |
Steam Next Fest: June 2024 Edition | Jun 10th | |
WN Conference Istanbul 2024 | Jun 11th | |
GamesForum Hamburg 2024 | Europe | Jun 11th |
ESI London 2024 | Europe | Jun 13th |
Game Con Canada (GCC) 2024 | North America | Jun 14th |
Indie Dev Play 2024 | Europe | Jun 14th |
DevGAMM Vilnius 2024 | Europe | Jun 14th |
Popular Stories
Interview
Jun 5th, 2024
A galaxy far, far away… Why Star Wars: Hunters took six years to hit the target
as
Feature
Jun 3rd, 2024