Bally Technologies acquires DragonPlay for $100m

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deal merger picture: photo to go

The company's casino-style games are designed for Android, iPhone, and Facebook.

Mobile social gaming company DragonPlay Ltd. has been acquired by Bally Technologies Inc. (NYSE: BYI). Bally reported that the acquisition is for up to $100 million - "$51 million in upfront cash plus the amount of net working capital, payable to Dragonplay’s shareholders in exchange for all of the issued and outstanding equity," and "approximately $49 million in additional earn-out consideration and employee retention payments over the next 18 months subject to Dragonplay meeting certain financial performance targets."

Bally, which has been manufacturing gambling machines since 1936, has 3,500 employees at 25 branches worldwide, and has a market cap of $2.2 billion.

Dragonplay was founded in 2010 by Sharon Tal. It develops casino-style games. Its most widely sold app is Live Hold 'em Poker Pro. The company's games, such as Sea Battle, Live Blackjack, and Farm Slots, are designed for Android, iPhone, and Facebook platforms. According to IVC, Dragonplay has 70 employees, and had $30 million revenue in 2013, the same as in 2012.

Dragonplay raised $14 million in its first financing round in 2012. Accel Partners led the round, with Entree Capital and Founder Collective participating.

Dragonplay CEO Sharon Tal said, "Dragonplay and Bally share complementary cultures focused on innovation and user experience. Both companies are committed to providing unique and stimulating content to players across the globe that enjoy playing entertaining casino-style games. I am confident that leveraging Bally’s vast library of proven slot and proprietary table game content will provide our loyal player base with an even more robust experience, which is expected to augment Dragonplay’s growth trajectory."

150 gaming developers in Israel

According to the GameIS - Digital Games Industry Association in Israel, the country's gaming industry has an annual turnover of $450 million, and that 150 companies are developing digital games. The top ten companies in the business have about 40 employees each, and smaller companies each have 5-10 employees. The companies usually develop 2-3 games a year. The industry has over 2,000 employees, including software developers and programmers, script writers, designed, animators, and production staff.

"Within a few years, the digital gaming industry has grown from a few dozen to several thousand workers and become one of the most sought-after sectors in high tech,"GameIS chairman Nir Miretzky told "Globes". "The global gaming industry has for a long time been one of the world's largest industries, surpassing the movie industry, with a turnover of over $400 billion a year. Facebook has declared that three Israeli companies are among the ten most profitable Facebook gaming companies. It has also targeted games from China, Russia, and Israel as some of its growth targets for 2014. These two statements indicate the great potential for continued growth by Israeli gaming developers."

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 5, 2014

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2014

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