Electronic Arts has announced its acquisition of Glu Mobile, a leading developer and publisher of mobile games such as Design Home, MLB Tap Sports Baseball, and Disney Sorcerer’s Arena, in a deal worth 2.1 billion in enterprise value. The acquisition was undertaken by EA to create a leading mobile portfolio across key genres, as well as to accelerate growth and expand its live services and creative leadership teams.
“Our acquisition of Glu combines amazing teams and deeply-engaging products to create a mobile games leader with proven expertise across many fast-growing genres,” said Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts. “Mobile continues to grow as the biggest gaming platform in the world, and with the addition of Glu’s games and talent, we’re doubling the size of our mobile business. With a deep IP portfolio and an expanding global audience, we’ll deliver more exciting experiences for our players and drive further growth for Electronic Arts.”
“This transaction is the culmination of the tremendous work of the Glu team to deliver world-class interactive experiences for our players, while driving business momentum that has led to strong financial and operational results. It represents a terrific outcome for all of our stockholders and other key constituents,” said Nick Earl, CEO of Glu. “As part of Electronic Arts, we will continue capitalizing on the opportunities ahead in the expanding mobile gaming industry.”
Glu Mobile was founded in 2001 and has made some interesting acquisitions of its own over the course of its history. One of those is Gamespy Technologies, which should ring a bell to anyone who grew up playing multiplayer games in the late 1990s and 2000s. Tencent also purchased a 15 percent stake in Glu in 2015, which has now grown to over 20 percent.