Creators of the popular Plants vs Zombies, PopCap Games, have now been bought by EA in a US$750 million deal, but could go much as US$1.3 billion if the company continues to perform well for EA’s financial records.
The deal includes US$650 million to acquire the company, in addition with US$100 million in stock. The developers could be as much as US$550 million more if the two-year cumulative earnings equate to US$343 million or more. If it falls below US$91 million, then its sellers will not receive an extra cent as a bonus.
The acquisition is likely hinting at EA’s attempt to find new platforms in order to expand, even EA is expecting growth of revenue with the deal. “PopCap’s great studio talent and powerful IP add to EA’s momentum and accelerate our drive towards a $1 billion digital business. EA’s global studio and publishing network will help PopCap rapidly expand their business to more digital devices, more countries, and more channels,” EA’s CEO John Riccitiello said in a press statement.
PopCap Games titles such as Bejeweled, Zuma and Plants vs Zombies already has 150 million downloads – a huge number of that being casual gamers. 80 percent of its revenue comes from digital platforms, including Facebook, the iPhone and Android. All of these are essential platforms for the gaming industry to expand, and now EA has a foot in those platforms.