Sega’s Rovio deal clears regulatory hurdles and gets the green light | Pocket Gamer.biz
Sega’s acquisition of mobile giant Rovio is set to go ahead as the company has received all necessary regulatory approvals.
The latest news on the deal has been announced by Rovio in their investor news, and although this is practically a formality, some analysts and observers may still have been watching this out of the corner of their eye. After all there’s been no small amount of drama in the world of M&A, especially if we look at other major players like Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard and the huge amount of drama surrounding that.
As the official business side of things is concerned this is effectively a rubber-stamp for the deal. And it’s a good time to point out what a major acquisition this is, perhaps second only to the Activision Blizzard deal in terms of significance this year. Because for Rovio and Sega the sky is now the limit as far as mobile is concerned.
What’s it all mean?
Aside from tying a neat bow on the Rovio acquisition, this approval also means we can properly look to the future and think about exactly what Rovio’s acquisition by Sega means for both companies. As far as those we spoke to not only from across the industry but from ex-Rovio staff themselves, this seems a fairly good deal for all considered. Even if some would’ve preferred if it was Rovio buying Sega and not the other way around.
Following Playtika’s attempts to secure a deal, Rovio announced that they were actively pursuing and in talks with other buyers. Certainly, a dark horse contender was a major console and PC publisher like Sega. However, with the deal confirmed, and now the rubber-stamp added, we can begin to safely speculate about just what we may see in the future from the now Sega-owned studio behind Angry Birds.
