San Francisco-based social game developer Zynga has acquired the creator of 1010! and Merge Dragons! Gram Games for $250 million in cash. The deal marks the largest acquisition yet for Zynga Chief Executive Officer Frank Gibeau.
Gram's nine titles, including Merge Dragons! and 1010!, so far have been downloaded more than 170 million times and will add about 3 million daily active users to Zynga's lineup, the company said on Wednesday.
Gram Games has studios in Istanbul, Turkey, where it was founded in 2012, and in London.
Frank Gibeau said in an interview that the company would also pay an earnout, or bonus, over three years if Gram Games hits unspecified financial targets.
Zynga will add Gram's 77 employees to its roster, and Gibeau said the deal could add to the company's "forever franchises," or long-life live services games such as Zynga's Words With Friends franchise.
Gibeau, who came to the company from video-game giant Electronic Arts Inc. two years ago, has been focusing on core brands, adding tournaments, new features and advertising.
"Gram Games helped define the hyper-Casual genre with games like 1010 and Six, and we continued to grow our footprint with Merge Dragons," said Kaan Karamancı, co-founder of Gram Games, in a statement.
"We look forward to marrying our unique approach to game making with Zynga's live services expertise to grow our games and continue to delight millions of players around the world," he added.
"We are proud to join Zynga and combine Gram Games' unique culture, talented team and hit games with Zynga's world-class organization," said Mehmet Ecevit, Gram Games CEO, in a statement.
Founded in 2007, Zynga Games has released many popular games on web and mobile platforms, such as FarmVille, Zynga Poker, Words With Friends, Hit it Rich! Slots and CSR Racing. In addition to the U.S, Zynga has offices in Canada, the U.K, Ireland, India and Finland.
Zynga also acquired the mobile card game studio of Turkey's leading global cellphone gaming company Peak Games for $100 million in November 2017.
