Brings New Brands, Resources To Social Gaming
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Nov 09, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced it has acquired
Playfish(TM), a leading creator of social network games. The acquisition
accelerates EA's position in social entertainment and strengthens its
focus on the transition to digital and social gaming. Playfish will
operate within EA Interactive, a division of EA focused on the web and
on wireless.
EA has acquired Playfish for approximately US$275 million in cash and
approximately $US25 million in equity retention arrangements. In
addition, the sellers are entitled to additional variable cash
consideration, up to a maximum of US$100 million, contingent upon the
achievement of certain performance milestones through December 31, 2011.
"Social gaming, with its emphasis on friends and community, is seeing
tremendous growth and this is the right time to invest to strengthen our
participation in this space," said Barry Cottle, Senior Vice President
and General Manager of EA Interactive. "EAi has been successfully
leading the charge for EA, and with the addition of proven expertise
from Playfish, their broad consumer base and strong game brands, we're
moving ahead aggressively in our plans to lead in the category of
cross-platform social entertainment."
"The industry is undergoing dramatic transformation and joining EA is
the ideal opportunity for us to push forward our goals to lead in the
social entertainment evolution on a faster and much larger scale," said
Kristian Segerstrale, CEO and Co-founder of Playfish. "EAi's vision and
entrepreneurial culture are consistent with our own, and together, we
are in position to be the company that defines new and innovative
connected experiences that will change the way people play games."
Playfish is one of the world's largest and most respected social gaming
companies with more than 150 million games installed and played
worldwide on platforms such as Facebook(R), MySpace(TM), Google(TM), Bebo,
iPhone(TM) and Android. Playfish currently has over 60 million monthly
active players across its ten titles - including Facebook hits Pet
Society, Restaurant City, and Country Story - driving more than 1
billion game play sessions every month.
EAi is a division of EA focused on digital business, including EA
Mobile(TM), Pogo(TM) and social gaming. Pogo is the #1 casual gaming
destination in audience engagement across North America and Europe. And
EA Mobile is the world's #1 mobile games publisher with 34% market share
in the U.S., and the leading games publisher on Apple's App Store with
such Top Paid Apps as Rock Band(R), Madden NFL10, The
Sims(TM), and Tetris(R).
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is
a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in
1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive
software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless
devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under
four brand names: EA SPORTSTM, EATM, EA MobileTM
and POGOTM. In fiscal 2009, EA posted GAAP net revenue of
$4.2 billion and had 31 titles that sold more than one million copies.
EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com.
More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can
be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile, Pogo and The Sims are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.
Rock Band is a trademark or registered trademark of Harmonix Music
Systems, Inc., an MTV Networks company. Tetris is a registered trademark
of Tetris Holding LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.
About Playfish
Playfish leads the social gaming industry in innovation and creativity
with award-winning, category-defining games designed for friends to play
together. The company has changed the way people play games by creating
more social and connected experiences. To date, more than 150 million
Playfish games have been installed and played by millions of people
worldwide on platforms such as Facebook, MySpace, Google, Bebo, iPhone
and Android. The company's games are amongst the most acclaimed and
popular online, including Pet Society, Restaurant City, Country
Story and Who Has The Biggest Brain? Playfish has development
studios in London, San Francisco, Beijing and Tromso, Norway. Playfish
is backed by Accel Partners, Index Ventures and Stanhope Capital.
Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements
Some statements set forth in this press release regarding EA's
acquisition of Playfish Limited and the expected impact of the
acquisition on EA's strategic and operational plans, contain
forward-looking statements that are subject to change. These
forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual events or actual future results to differ materially
from the expectations set forth in the forward-looking statements. Some
of the factors which could cause results to differ materially from the
expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements include the
following: the effect of the announcement of the acquisition on EA's and
Playfish's strategic relationships, operating results and business
generally, including the ability to retain key employees; EA's ability
to successfully integrate Playfish's operations and employees; general
economic conditions; and other factors described in EA's SEC filings
(including EA's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31,
2009 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30,
2009). If any of these risks or uncertainties materializes, the
potential benefits of the acquisition may not be realized, EA's and/or
Playfish's operating results and financial performance could suffer, and
actual results could differ materially from the expectations described
in these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date of this press release. EA assumes no
obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
SOURCE: Electronic Arts Inc.
EA Corporate Communications
Tiffany Steckler, +41 22 316 1322
tsteckler@europe.ea.com
Jeff Brown, +1 650 628 7922
jbrown@ea.com
or
EA Investor Relations
Mary Vegh, +1-650-628-3916
mvegh@ea.com
or
Director of Communications Playfish
Tom Sarris, +1-415-578-3194 (direct)
415-272-2174 (mobile)
tom.sarris@playfish.com
Copyright Business Wire 2009