Social casino games developer Playtika has opened a new investment arm that aims to provide up to $400 million for Israeli digital entertainment and consumer internet businesses.

Called Playtika Growth Investments, it will target companies that are already profitable or near breakeven with proven business models and products.

Firms it invests in will also gain access to Playtika’s marketing, monetisation, technology and product teams.

Hotbed of M&A activity

Over the past eight years Playtika has invested $300 million in more than 10 acquisitions.

The company was bought by a Chinese private equity consortium led by Giant Network Group in 2016 for $4.4 billion, which outbid another suitor: South Korean games giant Netmarble.

“Playtika’s operational teams oversee hundreds of millions of dollars in marketing budgets, the processing and analysis of more than 6 terabytes of data daily, and more than a billion dollars of revenue,” said Playtika Growth MD Eric Rapps.

“They have been instrumental in Playtika’s success from a 10-person startup to a global market leader with 1,700 employees across 14 offices in 10 countries. For the first time, their expertise will be made available to other companies and will help drive exceptional company performance and investment returns.”