Zynga has announced an agreement to acquire privately-held NaturalMotion, a leading mobile game a
nd technology developer for approximately $527 million in cash and equity, based on Zynga’s closing price on January 29, 2014.
NaturalMotion is led by a seasoned team of technology innovators, including Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Torsten Reil and Vice President of Games Barclay Deeming. NaturalMotion was founded in 2001 and has approximately 260 employees across Oxford, London, Brighton and San Francisco.
“We believe that bringing Zynga and NaturalMotion together is the right step at the right time,” said Mattrick. ”
“Our acquisition of NaturalMotion will allow us to significantly expand our creative pipeline, accelerate our mobile growth and bring next-generation technology and tools to Zynga that we believe will fast track our ability to deliver more hit games. Their creative portfolio aligns perfectly with our content strategy as Zynga will now have five top brands and capabilities in the Farm, Casino, Words, Racing and People categories. We are confident that we will build upon our market position with complementary strengths to generate long term value for our consumers, our employees and our shareholders.”, Adds more
NaturalMotion’s hit mobile games, CSR Racing and Clumsy Ninja, are in the popular consumer categories of Racing and People simulation. NaturalMotion possesses industry leading technology and tools and its proven simulation technologies have powered some of the biggest console games and blockbuster movies.
“NaturalMotion set out to make games that wow millions of people, by being obsessed with quality, disrupting and creating genres, and using almost magical technology. When we started talking to Don and his team, it quickly became clear that they shared this vision. Don’s background in AAA games and Zynga’s expertise in social game play and large-scale game operations will be invaluable to helping us grow our existing CSR and Clumsy Ninja franchises and maximize the breakout potential of our upcoming titles. We’ve reached our first milestones — creating #1 top-grossing and top-free titles — on our own. We can’t wait to see what we can achieve together with Zynga,” said Torsten Reil, CEO and Co-Founder, NaturalMotion.
Key Business Terms
— At closing, NaturalMotion’s shareholders and vested option holders will
receive an aggregate of $391 million in cash and approximately 39.8
million shares of Zynga Class A Common Stock
— Approximately 11.6 million of the 39.8 million shares will be issued to
continuing employees and will be subject to vesting over a three-year
period
Strategic Rationale
— Transaction is expected to be accretive to non-GAAP earnings and generate
bookings in the range of $70 to $80 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $15 to
$25 million in 2014
— Expands Zynga’s creative pipeline into two new consumer categories —
Racing and People simulation
— Accelerates mobile growth, bringing a track record of success and
creative and technical talent
— Provides cutting edge technology and tools, including Euphoria, to fast
track Zynga’s ability to deliver hit games