Softbank-GungHo OnLine consortium acquires 51% stake in Supercell for USD1.53 billion

By Rizza Sta. Ana

Oct 15, 2013 11:12 AM EDT

Gaming giant Supercell, who is the maker of "Clash of Clans" and "Hay Day", would be selling a 51% ownership stake to Japan's Softbank Corp and games developer GungHo OnLine Entertainment. The sale would put Supercell's company value at over USD3 billion. Supercell's current valuation was four times more bigger than its value seven months ago. Its valuation also surpassed publicly-traded social gaming company Zynga, whose value was at USD2.86 billion.

Under the agreement's terms, SoftBank and GungHo would create a special purpose company to be based in Finland. The consortium would purchase the controlling stake for USD1.53 billion. Softbank said, "(The consortium would create a special company) by indirectly investing US$1,224 million (investment ratio: 80%) and $306 million (investment ratio: 20%), respectively."

Although Supercell would be Softbank's subsidiary after the sale would be completed, the gaming company would still be operating as an independent firm. It would also be keeping its headquarters in Finland and co-founder Ilkka Paananen would remain as its chief executive.

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