Electronic Arts acquires Glu Mobile, creator of Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, for $2.4 billion

EA is ready to buy developer and publisher Glu Mobile. The deal worth $2.4 billion will help the company expand its 100+ million monthly active players on mobile.

Glu Mobile has a total enterprise value of $2.1 billion and net cash of $364 million. It means that the transaction, which is anticipated to close before June 30, will cost Electronic Arts $2.4 billion.

The full terms of the deal are yet to be revealed, but Glu Mobile probably won’t retain its autonomy and will operate within EA’s structure. The mobile publisher has now nearly 800 employees, including more than 500 developers, all of whom will become a part of Electronic Arts’ mobile division.

“Mobile continues to grow as the biggest gaming platform in the world, and with the addition of Glu’s games and talent, we’re doubling the size of our mobile business,” EA’s CEO Andrew Wilson said.

EA’s mobile portfolio includes more than 15 titles, including FIFA Soccer, The Sims, and Need for Speed. They generated $1.32 billion in bookings over the last year, and the company’s most successful mobile hit, Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, reached $1.2 billion in lifetime revenue.

The acquisition will be built on Electronic Arts’ network of 430 million players, including more than 100 million monthly active users of their mobile games. The company hopes that the deal will help it create a portfolio across key genres and expand successful and scalable live services.

Glu Mobile owns numerous mobile titles that helped the company reach $540.5 million in revenue in 2020. Its most famous games include Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, Design Home, Covert Fashion, and MLB Tap Sports.