November 30th, 2007 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Companies & M&A | 1 Comment »
After a big dip in the stock value of Glu, backed by CEO Greg Ballard who started dumping his shares in the company, Glu needed to come with some big news and so it did. Glu is acquiring MIG.
MIG is a big mobile gaming company in China that will enable Glu to grab a leading position in the market. In total, Glu will pay up $ 39,7 million for the company. $ 14.7 of that will be paid directly in cash and the remainder will be paid in cash and shares depending on the success of the acquisition. To determine this, the MIG unit will have to prove itself by reaching certain milestones.
As part of the acquisition, Wang Bin, chief executive officer, MIG, will join Glu as General Manager focused on China and Glu will add MIG’s approximately 80 employees to its worldwide team. These employees, based in MIG’s Beijing and Hefei offices, will continue to develop and publish mobile games that are relevant to a local, and potentially global, audience as well as work in conjunction with Glu’s existing Beijing office to further penetrate the Chinese market.
"We believe MIG is the leading developer and publisher of mobile games in China. The acquisition allows us to strengthen our presence in the region and supports our goal to be the world’s leading global publisher of mobile games," said Greg Ballard, chief executive officer and president, Glu Mobile. "The combination of MIG’s strong portfolio, exceptional management team and demonstrated market leadership complements our existing operation in the region and positions Glu to be the leader in this important emerging market."
"This is a great partnership that will benefit both Glu and MIG," said Wang Bin, chief executive officer, MIG. "MIG will now be part of a global operation that will allow us to continue to lead in this growing market."
For Glu, the news is taken pretty well as the stock value has once again increased and is now just below the 6.0. How long will it take for Glu to fully recover and regain the value they started at last year?
This isnt the big bang Glu needs! They need some BIG BANG – the shares were coming down again on friday cause buying a developer in China is not a good news. The cost for chinese developers are going up around 30% per year. The mobile games market in China is crazy. Good luck with such an investment!
Big investors (only view left) and several competitors do not understand this move.
Greg is still not buying shares back or? *EVIL*
They need the BIG deal not a midsize chinese studio!