EA acquires Playfish

Social gaming co hooked for $300 million

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9 November 2009 15:29 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Electronic Arts has confirmed it is to acquire social games giant Playfish. Playfish will be incorporated into EA Interactive, a division of EA that produces games for the Web and mobile devices.

EA will purchase the company that specialises in Facebook and casual games for approximately $275 million in cash and $25 million in an equity retention arrangement.

"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.

Meanwhile Kristian Segerstrale, CEO and co-founder of Playfish added: "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".

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