Zynga stock (NASDAQ:ZNGA) is moving higher on Friday as the company has announced that it will be acquiring a large chunk of Small Giant Games.
The video game maker said that it will buy 80% of Helsinki, Finland-based Small Giant Games — responsible for titles such as Empires & Puzzles — in a deal that is reportedly worth $560 million. The deal is slated to be completed on January 1, although there are various approvals that are pending before such a deal is completed.
The move follows previous major video game studio purchases from Zynga, including the 2017 purchase of assets that previously belonged to Peak Games for $100 million. That was followed by the May 2018 acquisition of Gram Games — bringing popular titles such as 1010 to the fold — for $250 million in clash plus other considerations.
“I’ll take our 47 Finns,” CEO Frank Gibeau said in an interview with GamesBeat, referring to the fact that he is paying more than half a billion dollars for Small Giant Games, which only employs 47 workers. “The Finns have small teams that are very skillful. What they have accomplished with Empires & Puzzles is phenomenal.”
Small Giant Games co-founder Timo Soininen had the following to say about the move: “Our studio was founded on the idea that small, skillful teams can accomplish giant things, and I am confident that partnering with Zynga is the right next step in our evolution.”
Soininen added that Small Giant Games will operate as a separate studio under Zynga, “maintaining our identity, culture and creative independence.”
ZNGA stock surged about 0.42% on Friday following the news.
