SoftBank Corp makes big moves in technology acquisition market
The Japanese tech and telecoms group SoftBank Corp acquired mobile company Sprint not too long ago, and it does not appear to be showing any signs of slowing down in the technology mergers and acquisitions market. According to an announcement earlier this week, SoftBank will acquire a 51 percent stake in the mobile gaming company Supercell.
The deal is reportedly worth about $1.53 billion, and should help SoftBank in its goal to become a top player in the ever-evolving mobile gaming market.
Hudson Square Research analyst Daniel Ernst told Reuters that the deal is potentially risky in the sense that franchises in the mobile market have been tenuous, like in the cases of Zynga and Glu. However, SoftBank likes to think long-term and has a very talented team.
In a company blog post, Supercell said that it is very excited about the opportunity presented by SoftBank, and hopes that it will help it become a key cog in the global gaming market.
"The combination of tablets, mobile and the free-to-play business model has created a new market for games, one that will be accessible to billions of consumers, more people than ever before in the history of games," the blog read. "This truly is a new era of gaming and has opened up exciting opportunities for new kinds of companies."
This is not the only M&A activity allegedly in the works for SoftBank, as Reuters also reported that the company is considering buying a stake in the wireless device distributor Brightstar Corp. The news source explained how that move could be worth more than $1 billion and would boost SoftBank's bargaining power with hardware suppliers.