EA Plays it anything but Casual with PopCap Acquisition

A few weeks ago, we reported on a rumour that EA was to purchase casual game developer extraordinaire PopCap for one beeeellion dollars.

It's no longer a rumour. EA have pulled the trigger on the deal, dropping $750,000,000 USD (about $915,000,000 NZD) plus another $100,000,000 USD ($122,000,000 NZD) in EA stock for the Seattle-based developer.

PopCap, whose game include the legendary Bejewelled series, Peggle, Plants vs. Zombies, and numerous other hit titles, have been cranking out highly-polished entertainment products since they were founded in 2000.

"EA and PopCap are a compelling combination," said EA CEO John Riccitiello. "PopCap's great studio talent and powerful IP add to EA's momentum and accelerate our drive towards a $1 billion digital business. EA's global studio and publishing network will help PopCap rapidly expand their business to more digital devices, more countries, and more channels."

"We picked EA because they have recast their culture around making great digital games," said David Roberts, CEO of PopCap. "By working with EA, we'll scale our games and services to deliver more social, mobile, casual fun to an even bigger, global audience."

Presumably they also picked EA as a result of the massive cheque in Riccitiello's pocket. The deal still needs to go through the normal regulatory approval, which ensures that there's no unfair disadvantage to either company's competitors, but it's expected that will complete without issue some time in August.

Source: Kotaku