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EA Buys Norwegian Play Fish

The leading global interactive entertainment software company Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) bought the Norwegian company Play Fish, a leading creator of social network games for 2,4 billion kroner. Play Fish will operate within EA Interactive, a division of EA focused on the web and on wireless.
EA has acquired Play Fish for approximately U.S. $ 275 million in cash and approximately U.S. $ 25 million in equity retention arrangements. In addition, the sellers are entitled to additional variable cash consideration, up to a maximum of U.S. $ 100 million, contingent upon the achievement of certain performance milestones through December 31, 2011.
“Social gaming, with its emphasis on friends and community, is seeing tremendous growth and this is the right time to invest two strengthen our participation in this space,” said Barry Cottle, Senior Vice President and General Manager of EA Interactive. “EAI has been successfully leading the charge for EA, and with the addition of proven expertise from Play Fish, their broad consumer base and strong game brands, we’re moving ahead aggressively in our plans to lead in the category of cross-platform social entertainment .
“The industry is undergoing dramatic transformation and joining EA is the ideal opportunity for us to push forward our goals to lead in the social entertainment evolution on a faster and much larger scale,” said Kristian Segerstrale, CEO and Co-founder of Play Fish. “EAI’s vision and entrepreneurial culture are consistent with our own, and together, we are in position to be the company that defines new and innovative connected experiences that will change the way people play games.”
Play Fish is one of the world’s largest and most respected social gaming companies with more than 150 million games installed and played world wide Wed platforms such as Facebook ®, MySpace ™, Google ™, Bebo, iPhone ™ and Android. Play Fish currently has over 60 million monthly active players across its ten titles – including Facebook hits Pet Society, Restaurant City, and Country Story – driving more than 1 trillion game play sessions every month.
EAI is a division of EA focused Wed digital business, including EA Mobile ™, Pogo ™ and social gaming. Pogo is the # 1 casual gaming destination in audience engagement across North America and Europe. And EA Mobile is the world’s # 1 mobile games publisher with 34% market share in the U.S., and the leading games publisher Wed Apple’s App Store with Top Paid Apps such as Rock Band ®, Madden NFL10, The Sims ™, and Tetris ®.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, Publish, and distribute interactive software worldwide for videogame systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTSTM, EATM, EA MobileTM and POGOTM. In fiscal 2009, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $ 4.2 billion and had 31 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA’s homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA’s products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile, Pogo and The Sims are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and / or other countries. Rock Band is a trademark or registered trademark of Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., an MTV Networks company. Tetris is a registered trademark of Tetris Holding LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
About Play Fish
Play Fish leads the social gaming industry in innovation and creativity with award-winning, category-Defining games designed for friends to play together. The company has changed the way people play games by creating more social and connected experiences. To date, more than 150 million Play Fish games have been installed and played by millions of people worldwide Wed platforms such as Facebook, MySpace, Google, Bebo, iPhone and Android. The company’s games are amongst the most acclaimed and popular online, including Pet Society, City Restaurant, Country Story and Who Has The Biggest Brain? Play Fish has development studios in London, San Francisco, Beijing and Tromso, Norway. Play Fish is backed by Accel Partners, Index Ventures and Stanhope Capital.

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