Netmarble's Jam City buys Canadian game developer

Jam City logo [NETMARBLE]

Netmarble's U.S. subsidiary Jam City bought a 100 percent stake in Canadian mobile game developer Ludia for $165 million, the game publisher said Thursday.

Ludia is a mobile game developer established in 2007 that specializes in turning popular movie franchises into mobile games.

It developed and published Jurassic World: The Game in 2015 and Jurassic World: Alive in 2018 from the “Jurassic World” dinosaur action franchise, as well as Dragons: Titan Uprising in 2019 based on the animated film “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” (2019).

It bought licenses for films from DC Comics and Walt Disney and is basing new mobile games on their movies.

Jam City also announced Thursday that it raised $350 million in equity and debt financing from Netmarble, Kabam and affiliates of funds managed by Fortress Investment in connection with the acquisition, the largest financing so far for Jam City, according to the company.

“The synergy between Ludia’s imagination, polish and innovative game mechanics with Jam City’s data science platform creates the perfect marriage between our two companies and adds significant value to their deep, rich entertainment experiences,” said Chris DeWolfe, co-founder and CEO of Jam City.

“The latest round of funding solidifies our strategy of acquiring great companies across the globe and heavily investing in our current studios to build enduring entertainment experiences that rival blockbuster Hollywood hits.”

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]