An article on the Bloomberg business news site reveals that Zynga reportedly offered more than $US2 billion to acquire the Finnish company, only to be rebuffed. Rovio wasn’t the only one to say no to Zynga either. Rolando makers Ngmoco turned them down and EA beat out Zynga when the two companies both tried to snatch up Popcap, best known for Plants Vs. Zombies.
Zynga currently has $US1.8 billion in cash and the San Francisco-based outfit’s looking to address its big weaknesses, which are an over-reliance on Facebook and a weak foothold in the mobile space. Angry Birds would’ve helped with that, but Zynga’s hopes of caging the popular avians came crashing down like a green pig’s house.
Zynga Flashes $US1.8 Billion Searching for the New FarmVille [Bloomberg]
i hope rovio laughed in zyngas faces
Not that I really care about who owns the angry birds franchise, but who in their right mind turns down 2 billion dollars? Granted its not about the money for Rovio, they probably bathe in the same type of money pit as Scrooge McDuck - but why not take the extra dosh from the company sale and, I dunno, build a life size replica of the USS Enterprise or end homelessness in their part of the country or something?
The problem is I really doubt it would have been 2b in cash, it would have been like 50 mill cash, and the rest in shares/stocks or something... and unfortunately you can't really build a studio with virtual money.
LOL, you don't challenge ELECTRONIC ARTS to a buyout contest! What were they thinking!?
Also, Rovio turned Zynga down because it was the right thing to do, rather than it having anything to do with money.
I don't know much about Star Wars, but I think I'm right on the money when I say Zynga is the Lord Sith of the videogames industry.