Sega Set to Acquire Angry Birds Maker Rovio for $776 Million

Updated: 17 April 2023

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Sega, the Japanese gaming corporation, has officially announced a $776 million acquisition offer for Finland’s Rovio Entertainment, the popular Angry Birds game makers.

Potential Purchase Deal Expected to Conclude in the Third Quarter of 2023

Earlier today, Sega issued a press release detailing its acquisition offer of €706 million ($776 million) to purchase Rovio, the renowned gaming corporation known for creating Angry Birds.

Although Sega’s spate of games, such as Shinning, Sakura Wars, Shinoni, Shin Megami Tensei, and Sonic the Hedgehog, are popular and available on most app download platforms, the company asserts to permeate into mobile gaming.

The deal is reportedly for the full acquisition of Rovio’s stock market shares and options, valuing each stock to be €9.25 per share, a roughly 19% premium to their fixed closing price before the announcement.

As detailed in the press release, Rovio games have been downloaded over 5 billion times in app stores. Its biggest popular franchise, Angry Birds, is licensed in various sectors, including consumer products, merchandise, and entertainment.

Haruki Satomi, the President and CEO of Sega, emphasized that the full purchase of Rovio will set the horizon and facilitate a high-level, immersive, and holistic experience for the gaming industry. It will also propel a seamless gaming structure, monetization, and maintenance.

In essence, the main accelerator of Sega’s goal is geared toward integrating current and future collaborations into the big leagues of mobile gaming globally.

Haruki further expressed his core happiness to witness and announce the soon-to-be full purchase of Rovio, set to be completed in the third quarter (Q3) of 2023.

According to him, Rovio is a reputable gaming corporation that has brought happiness to millions of games and is home to many skilled employees that love and support the company’s goal of becoming the industry-leading mobile game developer and operation.

Sega will use Rovio to create a permeating presence in the mobile gaming industry market and leverage its gaming development technology to boost the further development and market strengths of its future and existing games.

Alexandre Pelletier-Normand, the CEO of Rovio, has expressed his support for the deal. He emphasized that both gaming corporations hold the prestige of the mobile gaming industry, as per their franchise productions: Angry Birds and Sonic the Hedgehog.

The two games created iconic characters that are recognized anywhere in the world. The brewing purchase deal will create a new buzz and development impact on mobile, PC, console, and beyond.

First Release of Angry Birds: Major Catalysts for Its $776Million Takeover

Since its debut on the 10th of December, 2009, Angry Birds has etched its immersive gaming experience and thrills into the memories of gamers.

The innovative game was the definition of “a phenomenon masterpiece.” It created a wide buzz globally, notably in the early 2010s when 8 out of every 10 individuals played Angry Birds.

In early 2014, Rovio’s development company declared Angry Birds its biggest franchise after surpassing over a billion downloads, with 200 million active players monthly.

The universal game has experienced a drastic deep in popularity in recent years. However, gamers will forever remember the iconic gaming platform experience.

In 2015, the company produced a movie inspired by the game, which grossed a staggering $347 million globally.

According to Box Office Mojo report, its sequel “Angry Bird 2,” which came out in 2019, dipped to $147.8 million.

Still available for downloads, users can get the gaming app for 99 vents.

Rovio has yet to build anything close to the phenomenal success of Angry Birds. However, its deal with Sega looks interesting and may be the start of something exciting for the mobile gaming industry.