Zynga to Buy Mobile Game Developer Peak for $1.8 Billion

“This is a monumental partnership not only for Zynga and Peak, but for the whole mobile gaming industry,” Peak CEO Sidar Sahin said

Photo: Zynga

Mobile game developer Zynga on Monday announced it would acquire the Turkish game maker Peak for $1.8 billion in cash and stock in Zynga’s largest acquisition since it launched in 2007.

San Francisco-based Zynga, best known for hit games like “Words With Friends” and “FarmVille,” will gains Peak’s pipeline of popular mobile games, including puzzle game franchises “Toon Blast” and “Toy Blast,” that Peak said have over 12 million daily active users combined. Zynga said in a statement it expects Peak’s titles to grow its own daily active user count by more than 60% following the acquisition.

Istanbul-based Peak was founded in 2010 by chief executive Sidar Sahin and raised $19 million prior to its acquisition, according to funding tracker PitchBook Data Inc.

By midday on Monday, Zynga’s stock price had risen about 4%, to $9.55 per share, following news of the deal.

“We are honored to welcome Sidar and team to Zynga. Peak is one of the world’s best puzzle game makers and we could not be more excited to add such creative and passionate talent to our company,” Zynga chief executive Frank Gibeau said in a statement Monday. “We are expanding our live services portfolio to eight franchises, meaningfully increasing our global audience base and adding to our exciting new game pipeline.

Gibeau told Bloomberg that in-game bookings, or purchases (which is how most mobile games generate revenue) could increase by $300 million in the later half of this year because of the Peak acquisition.

Both parties said the transaction is expected to close in third quarter of this year. Peak will maintain its office in Turkey and its “unique creative culture and brand identity,” Zynga said.

By midday on Monday, Zynga’s stock price had risen about 4%, to $9.55 per share, following news of the deal.

Zynga’s popular games include “1010,” “Words With Friends 2” and “FarmVille Tropic Escape.” The company completed a roughly $1 billion initial public offering in 2011 and is backed by SoftBank’s venture capital division and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel.

“This is a monumental partnership not only for Zynga and Peak, but for the whole mobile gaming industry,” Sahin said in a statement. “Peak’s culture is rooted in relentless learning and progress, so as we embark on this new chapter in our journey together with Zynga, we remain as committed as ever to our unique culture.”

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