Ninja Kiwi has been snapped up by Modern Times Group (MTG). The New Zealand-based studio and publisher is well-known for developing tower defense titles, ‘Bloons Tower Defense,’ and a series of strategy games.
The acquisition deal comes in at around $142 million in cash and shares. An additional $47.2 million will be paid over the next three years, depending on profitability targets. The deal is expected to be closed by the end of June.
“Ninja Kiwi has popularized the entire genre of tower defense games and continues to pioneer it. Its evergreen Bloons IP and gaming platform have introduced millions to the tower defense genre, combining puzzle and strategy elements in games developed mainly for mobile platforms,” MTG CEO Maria Redin said in a statement.
“The strong organic traffic to Ninja Kiwi’s portfolio of games is hugely impressive, as is the company’s successful combination of paid and in-app purchase models in its pricing structure – both are testament to the quality of the titles that Ninja Kiwi has created. We’re very pleased that Ninja Kiwi is joining MTG and our growing gaming vertical, further broadening our offering through the introduction of a new genre,” Redin commented.
Founded in 2006 by Chris and Stephen Harris, Ninja Kiwi launched its first game in 2007 as a flash game. Later, the studio released a version of the game for consoles and mobile devices. The company has 70 staff with offices in its hometown of Auckland, New Zealand, and Dundee, Scotland.
Meanwhile, Sweden-based MTG is no stranger when it comes to acquisitions in the video games scene. However, the company didn’t announce any major takeover deals after it acquired Kongregate in 2017. The company has been actively looking for gaming companies to acquire, and Ninja Kiwi is the second most notable acquisition by MTG.
Earlier, MTG purchased the UK-based mobile game developer Hutch Games for $257 million in December last year. As part of its acquisition endeavors, MTG also increased its stake in German strategy game studio InnoGames.
Strategy titles have gained a lot of momentum in the last year, with tower defense titles bringing in the most revenues. Player spending on strategy games is also soaring, exceeding $2.8 billion in 2020 in the US alone.
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