Will DeNA Buy Ngmoco?
Will DeNA Buy Ngmoco?

Will DeNA Buy Ngmoco?

Will DeNA Buy Ngmoco?

Rumors floating that DeNA is considering yet another purchase, this time for iPhone game publisher Ngmoco http://bit.ly/duijzn

Update: Yep.. it’s a Done Deal.. 😎

According to this note via VentureBeat:

Japan’s hot social mobile gaming firm DeNA is reportedly considering buying iPhone game publisher Ngmoco for more than $400 million.

Techcrunch reported that it heard the rumors from multiple sources and that the price is above $400 million, although that likely includes a large earnout, or a payment based on whether Ngmoco hits performance targets. Ngmoco was started in 2008 by former Electronic Arts executive Neil Young, and it then raised more than $40 million, much of it from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Kleiner’s Bing Gordon, former chief creative officer of EA, is on Ngmoco’s board.

DeNA is expecting to generate more than a billion dollars in revenue this year in the Japanese mobile games market, where mobile gaming is much more advanced. The promise of Ngmoco is that the U.S. could potentially be a much bigger market than Japan’s. That may be why DeNA is willing to pay such a high price for Ngmoco. Techrunch said Zynga reportedly looked at making a bid but balked at the high price.