A Chinese consortium has bought Playtika, an Israeli online games company, for $4.4 billion in cash, the consortium and US-based Caesars Interactive Entertainment said in a joint statement on Sunday.
Caesars acquired the Herzliya-based Playtika in 2011.
The Chinese group includes Giant Investment (HK) Limited, China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co. Ltd., China Minsheng Trust Co. Ltd., CDH China HF Holdings Company Limited, the Hony Capital Fund, and Yunfeng Capital — a private equity firm co-founded by Alibaba’s Jack Ma.
According to the statement, Playtika will continue to run independently with its headquarters remaining in Herzliya, and its existing management team will continue to run its day-to-day operations.
“We are incredibly excited by the commercial opportunities the consortium will make available to us, particularly in its ability to provide us access to a large and rapidly growing emerging market,” said Robert Antokol, co-founder and CEO of Playtika.
Playtika also has offices in Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Canada, Japan, Romania, Ukraine and the United States.
Playtika, founded in 2010, was a pioneer in the free-to-play games on social networks and mobile platforms and is the creator of popular titles, such as Slotomania, House of Fun and Bingo Blitz, which consistently rank among the top-grossing games on Apple’s App Store, Google Play and Facebook, the statement said.
Playtika’s games are played daily by more than 6 million people in 190 countries, in 12 languages, and on more than 10 platforms.
Playtika’s crown jewel is Slotomania, an online video slot machine – introduced in 2010, and immediately a big hit with web users. Slotomania’s performance was so impressive that Playtika was snapped up just a year and a half later by Caesar’s Interactive Entertainment, the online gambling division of Caesar’s Entertainment, the biggest casino and gaming company in the US, with properties in Las Vegas, Reno, Atlantic City and elsewhere. After an initial investment, CIE quickly upped its share in Playtika, becoming a 51% owner of the company in 2011.
“Playtika’s growth has been exceptional, and highlights its outstanding team, excellent corporate culture, cutting-edge big data analytics, and its unique ability to transform and grow games,” said a representative of the Consortium, Giant’s founder and chairman Shi Yuzhu. “We are looking forward to Playtika continuing to innovate and excel.”
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions, and is expected to close in the third or fourth calendar quarter of 2016, the statement said.
A consortium of Chinese companies, led by Giant, will buy Israeli casino game company Playtika for $4.4 billion.
Playtika, which is based out of Herzliya, Israel, was owned by Caesars Interactive Entertainment.
Caesars is selling off the gambling game to clean out its debt.
Under the agreement, Playtika will continue to roperate out of Herzliya, Israel and will retain its existing management team.
“This transaction is a testament to Playtika’s unique culture and the innovative spirit of our employees who for the past six years have consistently designed, produced and operated some of the most compelling, immersive and creative social games in the world,” said Robert Antokol, cofounder and CEO of Playtika, in a statement.
“We are incredibly excited by the commercial opportunities the Consortium will make available to us, particularly in its ability to provide us access to large and rapidly growing emerging markets. This is an amazing milestone for all Playtikans and we truly value how unique this opportunity is to continue executing our vision with such a strong partner.”
Giant’s founder and Chairman Shi Yuzhu praised “Playtika’s growth” as”exceptional,” citing “its outstanding team, excellent corporate culture, cutting-edge big data analytics, and its unique ability to transform and grow games,”
“We are looking forward to Playtika continuing to innovate and excel,” he added.
The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and other closing conditions, and is expected to close in the third or fourth calendar quarter of 2016.