|
Title: The Beast swallows another. Post by: Shockeye on December 09, 2005, 10:14:10 AM Quote from: GamesIndustry.biz EA to acquire Jamdat in $680 million deal (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=13515) Rob Fahey 09:53 09/12/2005 Largest ever mobile gaming acquisition is also EA's biggest ever deal Leading videogame publisher Electronic Arts has announced that it's set to acquire mobile game company Jamdat in a deal which values the publicly traded firm at around $680 million and gives EA a strong lead in the mobile space. The deal - the largest consolidation move ever seen in the mobile gaming space - will see EA paying $27 in cash for each share of Jamdat, a premium of almost 20 per cent over the closing price of the firm last night. The move reaffirms EA's commitment to the mobile space, where the publishing giant has been showing increasing interest in recent years - not least because it's the single largest acquisition in the company's history. Los Angeles based Jamdat is the only mobile games company to have been floated on the stock market, having gone public in mid-2004, and it showed revenues of $202 million in its last reported quarter. The firm employs 350 staff around the world. EA hopes to publish over 50 mobile games in the year following the completion of the acquisition. EA's own burgeoning mobile division will be merged with Jamdat, with the combined business falling under the supervision of Jamdat CEO Mitch Lasky. Lasky is clear as to the ambitions of the new combined company; "we wanted to win worldwide [leadership]," he told an analyst conference call last nigh, "and we think this combined position will let us do it a lot faster than if we were to do it on our own." EA chief executive Larry Probst agreed; "we think that on a combined basis, we can go very quickly, very aggressively, not only in North America, but in Europe and Asia, he commented." A number of other top videogame publishers also have strong operations in the mobile space - most notably Ubisoft and THQ, through their GameLoft and THQ Wireless subsidiaries respectively. So much for mobile market competition... Title: Re: The Beast swallows another. Post by: shiznitz on December 09, 2005, 10:47:21 AM Just wait until EA embraces in game advertising with some gusto.
Title: Re: The Beast swallows another. Post by: schild on December 09, 2005, 12:44:46 PM In game? Jamdat makes mobile phone games. The amount of money available there for advertising during loading screens and streaming new ads in is hugemongous. And if I'm not mistaken. Jamdat is the leading mobile phone game company. Only from reading the headline of the article, I can assume taht EA would buy anyone who threatened a majority in any space of gaming.
Title: Re: The Beast swallows another. Post by: Brolan on December 09, 2005, 07:57:04 PM How do those shit-heads at EA keep going? With all the half-assed, fucktard decisions they make the whole rotten structure should have collapsed by now.
Title: Re: The Beast swallows another. Post by: Krakrok on December 09, 2005, 08:45:15 PM Well, fuck. And they keep going because you tards keep buying Madden every year. Title: Re: The Beast swallows another. Post by: Strazos on December 09, 2005, 09:07:16 PM "you tards"?
Please. I've only owned a Madden game once in my life, and I returned it because I realised actually owning a Madden game is dumb. Title: Re: The Beast swallows another. Post by: Azazel on December 09, 2005, 10:18:17 PM FIFA sells very well in all those countries that aren;'t the US. The Bastketingball games sell well both inside and outside.
Lucky accidents like BF1942 help as well.. Title: Re: The Beast swallows another. Post by: Der Helm on December 12, 2005, 12:50:07 AM How do those shit-heads at EA keep going? With all the half-assed, fucktard decisions they make the whole rotten structure should have collapsed by now. There is hope that they will colapse just like every other empire that survived by expanding their borders.Title: Re: The Beast swallows another. Post by: HaemishM on December 12, 2005, 08:50:32 AM How do those shit-heads at EA keep going? With all the half-assed, fucktard decisions they make the whole rotten structure should have collapsed by now. Simple. They partner up with good indy dev firms like Origin in the day, or DICE, publish their one big hit which is fairly new and innovative (or at least popular and fun), then slowly buy up stock in the dev firm until they have enough control to direct the dev firm's creations. They then force the dev firm to continually pump out expansions and sequels to their one big hit license, each one being less of an improvement on the last, but still selling incredibly well. Rinse and repeat until such time as the license doesn't make enough money, close it down and borg all the workers who haven't quit over the slave treatment yet, then move on to the next sucker. Title: Re: The Beast swallows another. Post by: Kenrick on December 12, 2005, 12:46:20 PM How is some company I've never heard of worth $680 million?
And fuck you EA. Title: Re: The Beast swallows another. Post by: Yegolev on December 12, 2005, 01:51:59 PM Maybe one day EA will accidentally hire Jack Thompson and both Florida and California will break off into the ocean.
|