Largest Online Gaming Software Provider Aristocrat Purchases Social Gaming Company Plarium for 0 Million

Sydney-based Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ALL:ASE), one of the largest online gaming software providers, has reportedly agreed to a deal that will see it acquire Israeli social gaming company Plarium Global Limited for $500 million cash.

According to Aristocrat’s press release, in addition to an upfront amount of $500 million cash, an earn-out arrangement payable to Plarium Global Limited shareholders to follow the end of the 2017 and 2018 calendar years respectively is included.

Plarium, a privately owned free-to-play mobile, social and web-based game developer, is based in Herzliya, Israel and has upwards of 1,200 employees worldwide. The company has offices in the U.S., Europe and Israel. Founded in 2009, the Israeli company’s Vikings: War of Clans is reportedly its most popular game to date having ranked in the top 10 grossing strategy games repeatedly since its launch. Other multiplayer online games Plarium is known for include Stormfall, Terminator Genisys: Future War, Soldiers, Inc. and Sparta: War of Empires.

According to the press release, Avraham Shalel, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Plarium, will continue to lead the firm after the acquisition. He and 12 other key members of the company’s management team have agreed to remain at Plarium and to defer a portion of payments due to them until the year 2020.

“I am very proud of the success we have achieved since establishing the business in 2009. The hard work and efforts of Plarium’s employees have positioned Plarium as a world class mobile game publisher. Aristocrat is an ideal partner for us given our common aspiration to be a global leader in social gaming, which will be accelerated through leveraging Aristocrat’s financial, strategic and operational resources” said Shalel, according to the news release.

Trevor Croker, managing director and Chief Executive Officer for Aristocrat, said,

“The acquisition of Plarium allows Aristocrat to expand our addressable market into logical adjacent segments in the fast growing mobile social gaming market. This immediately expands our addressable market from US$3.2 billion in the Social Casino segment, to US$25.4 billion when including the Strategy, Casual and RPG segments. It also provides us a stronger platform to target the US$43.6 billion overall mobile and web games market as growth segments.”

Completion of the deal is expected by the end of December 2017.