Private equity firm Joffre Capital announced that it has agreed to acquire 25.7% of outstanding shares of mobile gaming firm Playtika for around $2.2 billion.
Israel-based Playtika’s largest stockholder is Playtika Holding UK Limited (PHUK II), which has been actively looking for a potential buyer for its shares back in January.
Joffre Capital—led by James Lu, a former Baidu executive—is expected to pay Playtika Holding UK II Limited (PHUK II) $21 per share for 106.1 million shares, equivalent to 25.73% of Playtika’s shares. Playtika went public in January 2021 and exceeded expectations when it raised $1.88 billion by selling 69.5 million shares at $27 each.
In July, reports stated the company has laid off 250 workers from its Los Angeles, Montreal, and London offices. The news follows less than a year when Playtika reported an increase in earnings. In addition, the company also established a new office in Switzerland and acquired app developer Reworks in a $600 million transaction.
Reworks is based in Finland and is well known for its home decorating app Redecor.
Founded in 2010, Playtika specializes in casino-themed games and has apps for poker and solitaire. According to its website, the company has more than 34 million monthly active users worldwide. Slotomania and Caesars Slots are some of Playtika’s most popular free-to-play (F2P) mobile games.
In 2016, Shi’s Giant Network and Yunfeng Capital, a private equity firm founded by Chinese entrepreneur Jack Ma, paid $4.4 billion to acquire Playtika from the US group Caesars Interactive Entertainment. Earlier, Caesars Entertainment Casino Group paid up to $90 million to acquire Playtika back in 2011.
Recently, 505 Games‘ parent company Digital Bros, acquired D3 Go!—the publisher of the Marvel Puzzle Quest and Puzzle Quest: The Legend Returns for an undisclosed sum.
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