Candy Crush maker King Digital bought by US games giant Activision Blizzard for $5.9bn
Activision Blizzard, the US gaming giant behind Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, announced this morning it's bought iPhone games developer King Digital, the European company behind the notoriously addictive Candy Crush, for $5.9bn (£3.8bn).
The company said it will pay $18 per share for the company, a 20 per cent premium over King's closing price on Friday.
Shares in King were 14 per cent higher at $17.72 in mid-morning trading in New York , while Activision shares fell 0.9 per cent to $34.26.
"Activision Blizzard believes that the addition of King's highly-complementary business will position Activision Blizzard as a global leader in interactive entertainment across mobile, console and PC platforms, and positions the company for future growth," the company said.
King, which spurned the London Stock Exchange to float on the New York Stock Exchange, was valued at $7bn when it listed in March 2014.
However, since then share have struggled as it tried – and failed – to prove it wasn't a one-hit wonder. Yesterday shares closed at $15.54, 30 per cent below their IPO price of $22.50.
Yesterday Riccardo Zacconi, King's chief executive, said the company was "excited" about the tie-up.
We believe that the Acquisition will position us very well for the next phase of our company's evolution and will bring clear benefits to our players and employees.
"We will combine our expertise in mobile and free-to-play with Activision Blizzard's world-class brands and proven track record of building and sustaining the most successful franchises, to bring the best games in the world to millions of players worldwide."