Zynga closes acquisition of Istanbul-based Rollic

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 4, (Agencies): Zynga Inc a global leader in interactive entertainment, and Rollic, an Istanbulbased mobile games developer and publisher with an exciting portfolio of popular hyper-casual games that have been downloaded more than 365 million times, announced today that the companies have closed the transaction under which Zynga acquired 80% of Rollic for a total purchase price, including working capital adjustments, of approximately $180 million in cash. Over the next three years, Zynga will acquire the remaining 20% in equal installments at valuations based on specific topline and profitability goals.

The Rollic acquisition marks Zynga’s entrance into the fast-growing hyper-casual market and brings a highly talented team with a substantial network of external developers to Zynga. Rollic also meaningfully increases

Zynga’s audience while growing its advertising business. Rollic will continue to be led by founder and Chief Executive Officer Burak Vardal and its current management team. Additionally, the company plans to maintain its headquarters in Istanbul, Turkey.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Rollic and its incredibly talented team, along with its extensive network of developers, to Zynga,” said Frank Gibeau, Chief Executive Officer of Zynga. “Rollic brings Zynga into the world of hypercasual, which is one of the most exciting and fastest growing mobile gaming categories. Rollic’s large and diversified audience base will also be valuable for Zynga as the mobile games and advertising landscape continues to grow.”

“We are memorably excited to be joining Zynga, a perfect home for Rollic’s culture and core values,” said Burak Vardal, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Rollic. “In this new chapter, Zynga and Rollic will bring together a massive production power filled with creativity, quality and extremely talented teams. We’re devoted to reflect the potential energy of this joining by creating the next generation of mobile gaming.”

Founded in December 2018 by Burak Vardal, Deniz Basaran and Mehmet Can Yavuz, Rollic is a hypercasual publisher and game developer based in Istanbul, Turkey. Eight of Rollic’s games have reached #1 or #2 top free downloaded games in the US App Store, and their latest releases, Go Knots 3D and Tangle Master 3D, were the top two most downloaded games in the US App Store in Q2 2020. The close of this acquisition is effective as of Oct 1, 2020. Zynga expects to update its full year 2020 guidance when reporting Q3 2020 financial results.