ZNGA News: Zynga Stock Edges Higher on Small Giant Games Buy
Zynga stock (NASDAQ:ZNGA) is moving higher on Friday as the company has announced that it will be acquiring a large chunk of Small Giant Games.
The video game maker said that it will buy 80% of Helsinki, Finland-based Small Giant Games — responsible for titles such as Empires & Puzzles — in a deal that is reportedly worth $560 million. The deal is slated to be completed on January 1, although there are various approvals that are pending before such a deal is completed.
The move follows previous major video game studio purchases from Zynga, including the 2017 purchase of assets that previously belonged to Peak Games for $100 million. That was followed by the May 2018 acquisition of Gram Games — bringing popular titles such as 1010 to the fold — for $250 million in clash plus other considerations.
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“I’ll take our 47 Finns,” CEO Frank Gibeau said in an interview with GamesBeat, referring to the fact that he is paying more than half a billion dollars for Small Giant Games, which only employs 47 workers. “The Finns have small teams that are very skillful. What they have accomplished with Empires & Puzzles is phenomenal.”
Small Giant Games co-founder Timo Soininen had the following to say about the move: “Our studio was founded on the idea that small, skillful teams can accomplish giant things, and I am confident that partnering with Zynga is the right next step in our evolution.”
Soininen added that Small Giant Games will operate as a separate studio under Zynga, “maintaining our identity, culture and creative independence.”
ZNGA stock surged about 0.42% on Friday following the news.
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