Timed to coincide with its Q1 2014 financial results, Glu Mobile (NASDAQ: GLUU) has announced it's acquiring PlayFirst.

Best known for its casual Diner Dash franchise, PlayFirst is based in San Francisco - like Glu - and also like Glu is now focused on free-to-play mobile games.

The deal is financed by 3 million Glu Mobile shares, worth $12 million at today's closing price. Glu will also take on $3.55 million of PlayFirst's debt, giving a total value of $15.6 million.

A new direction

"PlayFirst brings to Glu one of the largest casual gaming brands of all time, as well as the studio-DNA to take Glu's casual portfolio to ever greater heights," said Niccolo de Masi, Glu CEO.

"We are delighted to add PlayFirst to the Glu family and look forward to the launch of a free-to-play Diner Dash mobile game in Q4 2014."

To-date, the majority of Glu's successful games have been in core genres such as action and shooters, although it has experimented with more casual and female-oriented experiences such as its Stardom game.

Glu said that it expects the deal to complete at the end of May, and the 32-strong PlayFirst team will continue to operate on a stand-alone basis, reporting directly to Glu's president of studios.

New, free-to-play versions of Cooking Dash and Wedding Dash are planned for 2015.

[source: Glu Mobile]