SEGA will make a friendly offer to buy Finnish studio Rovio, known for its successful Angry Birds franchise, for nearly €700 million, the two video game companies announced on Monday.
The offer, which represents a 19% premium to Rovio’s closing price on Friday, is part of the Sonic Hedgehog brand’s “long-term goal” to expand into video gaming on mobile, Sega and Rovio say in a joint press release .
Following the global success of Angry Birds around the turn of the 2010s, Rovio had remained very dependent on its license, having failed to sign a new flagship game, and its growth had plateaued.
The group specializing in mobile games, which went public in 2017, had a modest turnover of 317.7 million euros last year with a net profit of around 31 million.
The management of Rovio, which employs around 500 people, recommended that shareholders accept the offer of EUR 9.25 per share.
“The combination of the strengths of Rovio and SEGA represents an incredibly exciting future,” commented Alexandre Pelletier-Normand, Canadian head of the Finnish company, who is quoted in the press release.
As of 07:45 GMT on the Helsinki Stock Exchange, the stock is up 18% to trade at €9.17.
SEGA aims to start the acquisition in early May through July and to complete the acquisition in the third quarter, the group says.
With Rovio, SEGA is also getting its hands on the Finnish mobile gaming platform Beacon.