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Electronic Arts to Acquire Glu Mobile, Creating a New Global Leader in the Largest and Fastest Growing Gaming Segment
Electronic Arts Inc., a global leader in interactive entertainment, and GluMobile Inc., a leading global developer and publisher of mobile games including Design Home, Covet Fashion, and MLB Tap Sports Baseball, have entered into a definitive agreement under which Electronic Arts will acquire Glu Mobile. Under the terms of the agreement, EA will acquire Glu for $2.1 billion in enterprise value. Glu stockholders will receive $12.50 in cash for each share of Glu stock, representing a 36% premium to Glu’s closing share price on February 5, 2021. Upon closing, the acquisition will be immediately accretive to Electronic Arts’ total net bookings, and is expected to grow underlying profitability beginning in its first year.
The acquisition will immediately add significant scale to Electronic Arts’ mobile games business. The combination of Electronic Arts and Glu creates a leading mobile product portfolio that includes more than 15 top live services across fast-growing genres with a combined $1.32 billion in bookings over the last twelve months. Bringing together the best-in-class mobile development teams at Glu and Electronic Arts’ mobile business, with a collective portfolio of powerful IP in sports, lifestyle, RPG, casual and other genres, and leveraging Electronic Arts’ marketing and distribution strength to generate global reach, the combined organization will build on EA’s network of 430 million players, including more than 100 million monthly active players in mobile, and expand to new audiences and demographics all over the world.
“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.”
The strategic rationale for the acquisition includes:
Creating a Leading Mobile Portfolio Across Key Genres. The complementary nature of Electronic Arts and Glu’s successful products will create a portfolio that spans many of the biggest and most popular genres of mobile games, including sports, RPG, lifestyle, casual, and mid-core games. The combined organization will have a demographically diverse audience, with significant opportunities for franchise and market expansion.
Expanding Successful, Scalable Live Services. Both Electronic Arts and Glu have proven success creating mobile live service games that deeply engage large communities over many years and deliver strong recurring revenue. The combined expertise of the two organizations unlocks potential for further success. Glu’s franchises like Design Home, Covet Fashion, and MLB Tap Sports Baseballwill benefit from Electronic Arts’ global licensing and distribution capabilities to bring them to new markets and more players. Glu’s expertise in building and monetizing sports and casual mobile games, combined with Electronic Arts’ industry-leading IP in sports and beyond, will accelerate the creation of exciting new experiences for broad audiences.
Experienced Creative Leadership & Enhanced Team Capabilities. Glu brings a talented team including more than 500 mobile game developers (and nearly 800 total employees), adding significant scale to Electronic Arts’ mobile-focused organization. Glu’s creative leaders are established and well-known to Electronic Arts, with similar focus on creating highly successful mobile games with longevity. The combination of proven mobile leadership, deeply talented teams, genre expertise, long-running franchises and IP, and technology across the two organizations will be a catalyst to delivering new experiences and further growth.
Accelerating Growth. The combination of Electronic Arts and Glu will be a mobile growth engine. With strong, recurring revenue across a leading portfolio of live services, strength in key mobile genres, a deep roster of owned and licensed IP, access to a large-scale and growing player network, and ability to reach into new regions and markets, the acquisition will be immediately accretive to EA’s total net bookings and is expected to grow underlying profitability beginning in its first year.
An investor presentation outlining the key aspects of the planned acquisition is available on EA’s investor relations website, at ir.ea.com.
Details on the Proposed Transaction
The board of directors of each of Electronic Arts and Glu Mobile have approved the transaction and the Glu board recommends that Glu stockholders approve the transaction and adopt the merger agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Glu stockholders will receive $12.50 in cash for each share of Glu stock, representing an equity value of $2.4 billion, and a total enterprise value of $2.1 billion including Glu’s net cash of $364 million. The transaction is anticipated to close in the quarter ending June 30, 2021, subject to approval by the Glu stockholders, the receipt of required regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
Source: Electronic Arts Inc.
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LEON, the globally recognized online sports and casino entertainment brand, has partnered to sponsor four promising mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters: Justin Tafa, Junior Tafa, Hakaraia Wilson, and Joshua Culibao.
This partnership marks an exciting expansion of LEON’s sports collaboration portfolio, with the four Australasian athletes set to engage in various promotional activities and fan interactions, all while representing the LEON brand. These efforts aim to bring fans closer to the thrilling world of MMA.
The six-month promotional campaign will culminate in an unforgettable fight night in Australia this August, where the four fighters will demonstrate their prowess in the octagon.
The Tafa brothers and Culibao are well-known figures in the UFC, and Wilson is a rising star in professional MMA. Through LEON’s platform, they will provide regular updates on their training and progress and engage with fans via personal calls and exclusive online events.
LEON is committed to offering a secure, enjoyable, and innovative environment for casino gaming, sports, and esports fans. It prioritizes both entertainment and safety and advocates for responsible gaming practices.
Callen Mowatt, Agent at Ginnen Group Sports Management: “We are thrilled to join forces with such exceptional brand. Each of these athletes embodies the values of perseverance, determination, and courage, which we believe resonates deeply with with the brand. We look forward to being able to showcase their inspiring journeys as they reach new heights in their careers”
The Brand Communications Director of LEON commented, “Our partnership with the dynamic world of combat sports not only supports the aspirations of these talented athletes but also reinforces our pledge to deliver exhilarating and engaging experiences to our audience.
This collaboration reflects LEON’s commitment to innovation and community involvement, mirroring the triumphant cheers that echo across the sports landscape.Â
Our goal is to assist young talent and support emerging athletes. We understand the challenges they face and the dedication required to excel as top fighters.
Through this sponsorship, we aim to motivate our audience to pursue their dreams and strive for success. We extend our best wishes to the four fighters as they train for their upcoming matches over the next six months.”
For more information, please click here.
Offers Atlantic Lottery greater self-sufficiency when collaborating with IWG
Instant Win Gaming (IWG), a leading supplier of eInstant games to NASPL and WLA-member lotteries announced today a new, five-year direct contract to supply its InstantRGS (remote game server) and its InstantGames to Atlantic Lottery.
Since 2017, IWG has supplied eInstants to Atlantic Lottery through a subcontract with their iLottery platform provider. However, following substantial growth of their eInstant category, Atlantic Lottery elected to contract directly with IWG.
With a direct contract in place, Atlantic Lottery is assured greater self-sufficiency when collaborating with IWG on game development and innovation. Further, a direct relationship streamlines roadmap planning and deliveries including day-to-day game operations and support.
A direct contract is the primary way that lotteries source games from IWG.
Rhydian Fisher, IWG CEO, said: “Atlantic Lottery has been a valued partner of IWG for many years, and this new agreement will streamline the way in which we deliver and support our eInstants. AL’s decision to move to a direct contract is consistent with how the vast majority IWG’s lottery partners contract with their critical suppliers such as IWG.”
Robert Lalonde, Director of iGaming Product at Atlantic Lottery, said: “It is imperative to our business planning at Atlantic Lottery that we establish direct contracts with our primary eInstant suppliers. IWG has been a trusted supplier to us since 2017, and we’re excited to be taking our partnership forward with this new agreement.”
Soft2Bet, a leading casino and sportsbook platform provider, has joined the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) and activated its membership in Ontario, Canada, following its licensing in the Canadian province.
Soft2bet obtained its Certificate of Registration from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) at the end of March, where the company’s Ontario-focused brand Tooniebet.com will now feed into IBIA’s world-leading sports betting integrity monitoring platform before worldwide implementation in the coming months.
IBIA includes over 50 of the world’s leading sports betting and gaming companies, who operate over 125 sports betting brands. Soft2Bet’s decision to join the association further strengthens its own internal betting integrity protocols and IBIA’s position as the world’s leading sports betting integrity monitoring body.
David Yatom Hay, General Counsel at Soft2Bet, commented: “Soft2Bet is delighted to be joining the IBIA as we strengthen our own betting integrity monitoring processes and play our part in furthering the IBIA’s long-standing work on this key issue. Ontario is a world class iGaming jurisdiction; it will be the first market where we will implement our IBIA membership and we look forward to deploying the monitoring infrastructure worldwide in all the other markets in which we operate.”
Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, said: “Soft2Bet is a very welcome addition to IBIA, further strengthening our position in the Ontario market. The operator’s decision to join IBIA demonstrates its desire to utilise the best integrity protection available for its sportsbook product. The association is delighted to be able to integrate Tooniebet within our integrity monitoring system and looks forward to working closely with Soft2Bet to maintain the high integrity of its sportsbook.”
IBIA is a not-for-profit body that has no competing conflicts with the delivery of commercial services to other sectors and is run by operators and for operators to protect regulated sports betting markets from match-fixing. IBIA’s global monitoring network is a highly effective anti-corruption tool, detecting and reporting suspicious activity in regulated betting markets.
Through the IBIA monitoring network it is possible to track transactional activities linked to individual customer accounts. IBIA members generate more than $300bn in annual betting turnover (handle), accounting for approximately 50% of the global commercial regulated land-based and online sports betting sector, and in excess of 50% for online alone.
IBIA recently released a report on the Availability of Sports Betting Products which highlighted Ontario as a leading regulated gambling jurisdiction, with an expected onshore channelisation for sports betting of 92% in 2024 forecast to rise to 97% in2028. IBIA currently represents over 60% of the private sports betting operators licensed in the province. All online sportsbetting operators licensed in Ontario are required to be part of a betting integrity monitoring body.
IBIA’s Q1 2024 report detailed 56 alerts during the quarter. IBIA alerts contributed to the investigations and subsequent successful sanctioning of 21 clubs, players and officials in 2023, an increase on the 15 sanctioned in 2022.
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