Global law firm White & Case LLP and GKC Partners have advised Zynga Inc., a global leader in interactive entertainment, on its acquisition of Rollic, a mobile games developer and publisher with a portfolio of popular hyper-casual games that have been downloaded more than 250 million times. With this acquisition, Zynga enters the hyper-casual market—one of the largest and fastest growing gaming categories on mobile. Zynga will acquire 80% of Rollic for US$168 million in cash. The final upfront transaction consideration will also include customary closing adjustments and is expected to close on October 1, 2020. Over the next three years, Zynga will acquire the remaining 20% in equal installments at valuations based on specific profitability goals.
“We are delighted to have advised Zynga on their acquisition of Rollic,” said White & Case Istanbul-based partner Asli Basgoz, who co-led the transaction.
Founded in December 2018 by Burak Vardal, Deniz Basaran and Mehmet Can Yavuz, Rollic is a hyper-casual publisher and game developer based in Istanbul, Turkey. Eight of Rollic’s games have reached #1 or #2 top free downloaded games in the U.S. App Store, and their latest releases, Go Knots 3D and Tangle Master 3D, were the top two most downloaded games in the U.S. App Store in Q2 2020. Rollic’s titles currently have more than five million mobile daily active users (DAUs) and 65 million mobile monthly active users (MAUs).
White & Case partner Bijal Vakil, who also co-led the transaction added: “We’re delighted that our ongoing relationship with Zynga has allowed us to advise them on this acquisition, and assist in their collective mission of connecting the world through games.”
The White & Case team was led by partners Asli Basgoz (Istanbul), Bijal Vakil (Silicon Valley) and Emmie Jones, and included partners Will Smith and Lindsey Canning (all in London), counsel Elodie Gal (New York), and associates Elena Ruggiu, Lily Teh and Michael Hekimian (all in London).
White & Case has a professional association with Istanbul-based GKC Partners. The GKC Partners team included partner Emre Ozsar and associate Asli Gulum (both in Istanbul).
Earlier in 2020, White & Case advised Zynga on its agreement to acquire Peak Oyun Yazilim ve Pazarlama, A.S, in a US$1.8 billion acquisition earlier this year. White & Case previously advised Zynga on its acquisition of social game developer, Gram Games, and its acquisition of mobile game developer, Small Giant Games.
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