Sweden's MTG to buy New Zealand-based Ninja Kiwi for up to $186 mln (updated)

Modern Times MTG AB

24/03/2021 17:35

* Deal takes MTG into tower defence strategy games
    * MTG says to raise 1.1 bln SEK in directed share issue

 (Adds detail, company comment, background)
    STOCKHOLM, March 24 (Reuters) - E-sports and gaming group
MTG  MTGb.ST  has agreed to buy mobile games developer Ninja
Kiwi for around 1.6 billion crowns ($186 million) to broaden its
gaming portfolio, it said on Wednesday.
    MTG said the up-front payment would be around 1.2 billion
crowns with earn-out payments of up to 406 million crowns,
including cash and share components.
    The Swedish firm said in a separate statement that it was
raising 1.1 billion crowns from a share issue which will be
directed at Swedish and international institutional investors to
finance the deal while investment firm Atairos had agreed to
cover around 50% to become a significant long term shareholder
in the firm. 
    MTG, which has a $1.3 billion market cap, said buying Ninja
Kiwi would take it into a new gaming genre, tower defence
strategy games, with a total of approximately 140 million
downloads to date and 6.2 million monthly active users. 
    "After completing the acquisition, MTG holds strong
positions in the city building and strategy genres through
InnoGames, mobile racing through Hutch, idle games through
Kongregate and tower defence through Ninja Kiwi," the company
said in a statement.
    Privately-owned Ninja Kiwi is based in Auckland, New
Zealand. Its games include the Bloons Tower Defense games.
    MTG recently established a new holding company for its
gaming business, MTG Gaming, to hold acquisitions - such as
Hutch and Ninja Kiwi - and all its shares in gaming firms
InnoGames and Kongregate. 
    MTG had said in January that it had entered a non-binding
arrangement to buy an unidentified mobile games developer with
an initial purchase price of around $130-$150 million.
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 (Reporting by Helena Soderpalm and Simon Johnson
Editing by David Goodman and Elaine Hardcastle)
 ((helena.soderpalm@thomsonreuters.com; +46 8 700 10 15; Reuters
Messaging: helena.soderpalm.reuters.com@reuters.net))