The company behind the game Bejewelled purchased 1.3 billion deal

Game giant Electronics Arts buy the casual game maker Popcap, has developed successful mobile applications and Facebook. Purchaser hope the move will help it to reach one billion dollars in revenue this year online market
Pizza Great American games Electronic Arts has acquired developer PopCap Games, a deal worth $ 1.35 billion - including $ 650 million in cash, 100 million shares, $ 50 million in benefits and employee retention fee and $ 550 million in options based on meeting goals. This is the largest purchase ever of a social games company.

PopCap company responsible for some of the most successful titles in the social gaming and casual games like Bejewelled and Plants Vs. Zombies. In contrast to competitors such as Zynga, PopCap Games specializes in simple and does not rely on a single platform: it offers including mobile applications and applications for social networks like Facebook and RenRen Chinese. The company, established in 2000, currently employs approximately 400 employees and offices sit in Washington.

According to the announcement of the two companies, Electronic Arts intends to bring the new channels PopCap Games. CEO John Ryakitlio, although he said the acquisition will help the company reach its goal for 2011 - a billion dollars in revenues derived from online. Electronic Arts recently signed a five-year contract with Facebook.

Chief Financial Officer of Electronic Arts PopCap defined as a high growth rate and profit margin percentages "double-digit": PopCap entry last year $ 100 million, 60 million of them from Bejewelled and from Plants vs Zombies.

Electronic Arts expected PopCap titles this year will put a double amount - $ 200 million, so it has updated its annual revenue forecast from 3.8 billion




To $ 4 billion. Distributor expects that PopCap will continue to grow at least 10% annually during the next three years.

This is not the first time Electronic Arts games market into the social and casual games. Two years ago, the company acquired in developing games Fliifis $ 275 million, in what was then the biggest deal in the field. At that time many analysts have expressed skepticism the future of social gaming and the ability of companies like Zynga generate revenue.

For years, Electronic Arts was considered the world's largest game distributors, but in 2008 she lost the title company Activision, after the merger between it and Vivendi. As a result, EA has lost 75% of the value of its stock during the year. However, this year the company's shares rose 65%, partly due to its decision to close some of its development divisions and lay off more than 1,500 employees.