With titles like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft in its portfolio, Activision Blizzard is one of the biggest names in the traditional gaming market, but now the company has turned its attention to mobile gaming. It already has a few mobile games of its own, but why spend time trying to build a successful mobile gaming empire when you can just buy one that already exists? That’s the thinking behind the company decision to acquire King Digital Entertainment, which is known for its insanely popular Candy Crush Saga mobile games, for $5.9 billion.
Just days ahead of Blizzcon 2015, it appears that Activision Blizzard has been busy and is ready to drop a bombshell. News has come out this evening that the publisher is acquiring Candy Crush Saga publisher King Digital Entertainment for $5.9 billion. The acquisition give Activision Blizzard quite the stronghold in the mobile gaming market. In fact, the issued press statement notes the acquisition as part of a new global strategy to reach out to the lucrative mobile gaming sector and further diversify Activision Blizzard’s intellectual properties that include Call of Duty, Destiny, World of Warcraft, Heroes of the Storm, Starcraft, Guitar Hero, and many more. The deal will be in cash that will be come out of the publisher’s available offshore funds, as well as from a $2.3B loan that it will take out from Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, and Goldman Sachs. Activision Blizzard is also expressing this as an opportunity to potentially cross-promote and grow a number of its franchises through the mobile gaming sector. The acquisition is subject to approval by King’s shareholders, but the move has already been met with enthusiasm and is expected to be completed by Spring 2016.
