Sweden-based digital entertainment firm MTG (Modern Times Group) has acquired the Indian gaming startup, PlaySimple for at least $360 million, as announcements from the two firms surface.
According to a statement from MTG, the gaming giant will pay 77 percent of the total amount for acquisition in cash. The rest of the sum will be paid in company shares. Besides, depending on certain undisclosed performance metrics, PaySimple might also get a reward of an additional $150 million.
PlaySimple had made significant progress in the Indian startup ecosystem. In 2016, the company managed to raise $4 million Series A at a valuation of about $16 million from Elevation Capital and Chiratae Ventures. PlaySimple operated nine-word games like “Word Wars”, “Word Jam”, and its revenue was all set to cross the $60 million mark in the first quarter of 2021.
“We’re very proud of the games we’ve developed over the years and of the infrastructure and scale that we’ve achieved with our team,” said co-founders Siddhanth Jain, Suraj Nalinn, and Preeti Reddy in a statement. They also mentioned that joining the MTG family will help them to leverage their proprietary technology in MTG’s gaming portfolio and foray into the European market with new games.
The MTG Group had earlier acquired Hutch and Ninja Kiwi, and with the acquisition of PlaySimple, the company aims to develop a diversified gaming vertical. Commenting on the acquisitions, the company said, “Scaling and diversifying the GamingCo [an MTG subsidiary] helps to accelerate the operational performance while at the same time creating a more stable business.”
