WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.
Games developer EA is in the market to acquire other game developers.
Games developer EA is in the market to acquire other game developers, with mobile likely to be a potential target market for potential acquisitions.
Carolyn Rohde, an associate in EA’s corporate development department – which is responsible for mergers, acquisitions and strategic investments – made the suggestion in an interview on the company’s The Beat blog.
When asked if the company is actively looking at the market for companies for sale, Rohde said: "Yes, definitely. If we're interested in moving into a particular genre of gaming, or bolstering our presence in a certain area, then we'll look at the market landscape to see who's performing the best and who, of those companies, is a good strategic and financial fit for EA."
In recent times, EA has acquired a number of mobile-related game companies such as PopCap, Chillingo and Firemint, the negotiations for which were handled by the corporate development team. "If we think there is a fit with a certain company, then we engage them in an acquisition or investment discussion," Rohde said.
She added that "many of our acquisitions are cross-border." Other mobile-related international purchases made by EA in recent years have included Russia’s Mobile Post Production and the UK’s Chillingo and Playfish.
