- By Peter Hoskins
- Business Correspondent
Angry Birds games have become very popular in the last decade
Rovio Entertainment, the maker of Angry Birds video games, has held talks with larger rival Sega Sammy Holdings about its potential acquisition.
In February, Rovio announced it had begun a review of the business, including holding discussions about its potential sale.
On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported the deal would be worth around $1 billion (£810m).
Rovio declined to comment on the potential value of its sale.
But it confirmed in a statement that it is in discussions with the Japanese gaming giant – maker of the popular Sonic the Hedgehog titles.
on Monday, Sekha Samy said in a separate statement: “This topic will be discussed by our Board of Directors today, April 17, 2023, and we will announce in due course when any decisions are made regarding this strategic option.”
Rovio held talks with Israeli rival Playtica Holding earlier this year about a potential acquisition. However, those discussions ended last month without a deal.
Finland-based Rovio is best known for its Angry Birds brand, which started as a popular mobile game in 2009.
Rovio claims that Angry Birds is the first mobile game to be downloaded a billion times.
It has seen several spin-off versions, and the brand has also produced two Angry Birds movies.
Last year, the company said downloads on its stable of games reached five billion.
However, Rovio is yet to come up with a sequel to recreate the global popularity of Angry Birds.
This has made it a potential acquisition target for major gaming industry giants such as Sega.
Rovio has around 550 employees in eight game studios around the world.
At the close of trading on Friday, Rovio’s stock market value was $707m (£571m).
Sega Sammy is a Japanese global holding company formed in 2004 by the merger of video game company Sega and Sammy Corporation in 2004.
Sega has produced several million-selling video game franchises and is known worldwide for its Sonic the Hedgehog character.
Sammy manufactures and sells amusement arcade machines.
Shares of Sega Sammy fell about 3% in Tokyo on Monday.
