Zynga Inc. (ZNGA), the largest maker of games played on Facebook Inc. (FB)’s social network, has agreed to acquire San Mateo, California-based game maker A Bit Lucky Inc., two people familiar with the matter said.
The purchase could be announced as soon as today, said the people, who asked not to be named because the terms were not disclosed.
Zynga Chief Executive Officer Mark Pincus has used deals to expand into new markets and add developers to its ranks. At least eight managers have left since early August after a second-quarter earnings report missed analyst expectations and showed slowing sales. The company’s shares have declined 68 percent since its December initial public offering, as of Sept. 14, eroding the value of equity used to compensate staff.
San Francisco-based Zynga paid $180 million to acquire OMGPop Inc. in March, after spending a combined $147.2 million for 22 companies in 2010 and 2011.
Dani Dudeck, a spokeswoman for Zynga, declined to comment.
A Bit Lucky is backed by venture capitalists including Accel Partners, Rembrandt Venture Partners, and Blumberg Capital, as well as Japanese game maker Nexon Co. (3659), according to its website. The developer has less than 50 employees, according to its page on LinkedIn Corp. Earlier this year, it partnered with Nexon to make one of its games, Lucky Space, available to Korean users.
Zynga had $1.64 billion in cash and short- and long-term investments as of June 30, according to its latest quarterly filing.
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