This just in: Mumbai-based UTV has made two big moves into the online and mobile gaming space: it has acquired a controlling stake in Ignition Entertainment, UK-based console gaming company, and in mobile and online gaming firm Indiagames, for Rs 128 crore (about $29 million), reports ET.
—Indiagames: it has bought 51% equity stake for Rs 68 crore, instantly making it one the largest players in the local gaming space. Indiagames reported an annual revenue of around $5 million for the last fiscal and houses close to 270 employees. In 2004, Chinese onlien gaming firm Tom Online bought close to 80 percent in Indiagames for nearly $18 million. Its stake came down to 62.42 percent, following Cisco and Macromedia’s (now owned by Adobe) acquisition of 10 percent and 8.18 percent, respectively, in Indiagames. This probably measn Tom has completely divested its stake off..we’ll confirm that for you later today.
—Ignition: it has bought 70% equity stake in the UK-based Ignition for around Rs 60 crore. The revenue of this 100-employee strong company is expected to be about $15 million for the calendar year ending December 2006.
UTV CEO Ronnie Screwvala said that UTV would invest Rs 135 crore in the development of animation movies over the next three years and at least three animation titles are expected from UTV’s motion picture slate by 2009.
Indiagames founder Vishal Gondal will continue to head the company. Ignition has strong relationships with hardware manufacturers, game developers and distributors such as Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, SNK, Konami, Atari, Virgin and Wal Mart.
Related:
—Indiagames Plans To Raise $25 Million; But Is Tom Online Exiting?
—Indiagames Close To Raising Another Round Of VC Funding
—Indiagames Investment Announced