EA hooks Playfish
EA said it had bought Playfish, which makes games for Facebook, MySpace and other social networks, for 275 million dollars in cash and 25 million dollars in equity retention arrangements for employees.
In addition, the Redwood City, California-based EA said it will pay up to 100 million dollars if the privately held Playfish reaches certain perfomance milestones through December 31, 2011.
“Social gaming, with its emphasis on friends and community, is seeing tremendous growth and this is the right time to invest to strengthen our participation in this space,” said Barry Cottle, senior vice president and general manager of EA Interactive.
“With the addition of proven expertise from Playfish, their broad consumer base and strong game brands, we’re moving ahead aggressively in our plans to lead in the category of cross-platform social entertainment,” he added.
Kristian Segerstrale, co-founder and chief executive of Playfish, said “joining EA is the ideal opportunity for us to push forward our goals to lead in the social entertainment evolution on a faster and much larger scale.”
Playfish boasts more than 60 million monthly active players for its 10 titles which include popular Facebook games such as “Pet Society,” “Restaurant City,” and “Country Story.” Popular EA titles include “Rock Band,” “Madden NFL10” and “The Sims.”
EA shares were 1.68 percent higher in early trading in New York at 19.32 dollars.
EA and Playfish – discussion
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