CIE Agrees To Sell Social, Mobile Games BusinessDeal Does Not Include The World Series Of Poker |
|
An offshoot of Caesars Entertainment Corp. has agreed to sell its social and mobile games business to a group of business entities for $4.4 billion in cash.
A consortium including an affiliate of Shanghai Giant Network Technology Co., one of China’s largest online games companies, announced this past weekend that it entered into a definitive agreement with Caesars Interactive Entertainment to acquire CIE’s Playtika Ltd. The platform runs games like Slotomania and Bingo Blitz.
It was first reported back in May that CIE was open to selling its mobile games business.
The deal doesn’t include CIE’s World Series of Poker or its real-money online gambling business. CIE runs real-money online poker in Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware, the only three states in America where the activity is legal and regulated.
Playtika currency isn’t transferable to real money, a model that will remain in place after the deal, a press release said. As Bloomberg noted, the only place in China where casino-style gambling is legal is in Macau.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions, and is expected to close in the third or fourth quarter of 2016.
Playtika will continued to be headquartered in Israel. Playtika also has studios and offices in Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Canada, Japan, Romania, Ukraine and the United States.
The consortium includes includes Yunfeng Capital, the private equity company founded by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Chairman Jack Ma, China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co., China Minsheng Trust Co., and Hony Capital Fund.
“This transaction is a testament to Playtika’s unique culture and the innovative spirit of our employees who for the past six years have consistently designed, produced and operated some of the most compelling, immersive and creative social games in the world,” said Robert Antokol, co-founder and CEO of Playtika.
“We are incredibly excited by the commercial opportunities the consortium will make available to us, particularly in its ability to provide us access to large and rapidly growing emerging markets. This is an amazing milestone for all Playtikans and we truly value how unique this opportunity is to continue executing our vision with such a strong partner.”
Mitch Garber, Caesars Interactive Entertainment Chairman and CEO, said in a statement:
“It has been a particularly rewarding experience growing Playtika from a 10-person start-up, when CIE acquired them in 2011, into a global leader. Playtika today is a highly profitable growth company with more than 1,300 employees, multiple top grossing titles and millions of daily users. Robert is a true visionary and Israeli business leader who has created not only a great business, but also the most unique corporate culture I have seen in my career.”
The deal comes as an operating unit of Caesars the parent company is undergoing a complicated Chapter 11 bankruptcy. A lawyer for Caesars’ bankrupt operating unit told a U.S. Bankruptcy judge in May that the company was willing put $4 billion toward its restructuring agreement.
Copyright © 2001-2024
CardPlayer.com. All rights reserved.
