MAG Interactive has announced the purchase of Swedish studio Apprope, consisting of only two people and known for the mobile puzzle WordBubbles. The transaction amount was about $6 million.The takeover is expected to be completed on January 4, 2021.
First, MAG will pay approximately 50 million Swedish kronor (about $6.02 million) in cash. The deal also implies an additional payment, the maximum amount of which will be another 50 million kronor ($ 6.02 million) and will depend on the developers’ profits in the next three years.
The purchase of Apprope will allow MAG to expand its gaming portfolio and gain a foothold in a new genre of word puzzles. “We are impressed by how Approve combines the speed of development and high quality, and also clearly focuses on profit,” said Daniel Hasselberg, CEO of the publishing house.
Apprope was founded by Daniel Lodin and Markus Wedenborn in 2012. They are the only employees of the company.
Their studio consistently shows good financial results. For the last fiscal year, which ended in August 2020, Apprope’s revenue was 17.5 million Swedish kronor ($2.1 million), and net profit was 11.4 million kronor ($1.37 million).
The most popular project of the company is the WordBubbles puzzle, which in six years since its release has earned 100 million Swedish kronor ($ 12.01 million) on iOS and Android. This fall, Apprope also launched a new title Word Mansion, in which developers combined the mechanics of word puzzles and games about home improvement.