Israeli casual mobile game giant Playtika, which Giant Network had previously tried to acquire, has now expressed its intention to acquire Rovio, the developer of the "Angry Birds" series. The company recently announced that it has made an all-cash offer of €9.05 per share to the Rovio Board of Directors.
The price is a 55% premium to the Angry Birds manufacturer's closing price of 5.82 euros on Wednesday.
This would bring the total offer closer to 751 million euros, or about 813 million US dollars, or 5.513 billion yuan.
The offer is not legally binding, and Playtika said it has not reached any agreement with Rovio on the subject.
Playtika has been interested in Rovio for some time, and the company said it had previously made an initial offer of €8.50 per share to its board in November.
Robert Antokol, CEO of Playtika, said, "We strongly believe that the size of Rovio's renowned IP and its user base, combined with our best-in-class monetization and game operations capabilities, will create significant value for our shareholders. ”
The announcement follows a series of layoffs by Playtika. The company laid off 600 employees last month, closing Seriously, the developer Best Fiends it acquired in 2019, and laying off 120 more jobs, in addition to the 250 layoffs it laid off in June.
While Rovio's share price briefly topped Playtika's offer in May last year, there hasn't been a single session above €9.05 since a profit warning issued in early 2018 nearly halved the company's share price in one day.
Rovio did not respond to a request for comment.