This article is based on our Weekly News Digest #25 from 24.06.2024. If you want to receive such analyses first, subscribe to our weekly newsletter. There, we analyze the most significant deals, elaborating on the financials and strategy behind them, while also covering the smaller transactions of the week.
UK-based mobile casual game developer Tripledot Studios acquired Czech-based mobile casual and hypercasual games developer ZephyrMobile for an undisclosed sum.
In Feb’22, Tripledot raised $116m in a round led by 20VC and announced that part of the proceeds would be used for M&A expansion. Since then, the company hasn’t been very active and made only one acquisition: a US-based mobile entertainment platform Live Play Mobile for an undisclosed sum. Now the time has come for a deal that is very close to the company’s core casual gaming business.
Founded in 2016, ZephyrMobile is a developer of casual and hypercasual mobile games. It is best known for its sort of puzzle game Get Color, which has over 66 million lifetime downloads.
Recently, the company has released several other successful titles that contribute to its growth, including the hypercasual puzzle game Car Out! Traffic Parking Games, the sort puzzle Nuts – Color Sort Puzzle Games, and the casual puzzle Math Crossword.
Top Games by ZephyrMobile. Source: AppMagic.
The growth of the studio comes at a time when hypercasual games are moving towards IAP monetization. Tripledot, with over 300 million lifetime downloads, is also actively adopting new monetization strategies, increasing the role of IAP in its revenue model.
Downloads and IAP Revenue Dynamics of Tripledot. Source: AppMagic.
Tripledot aims to use its expertise to scale Zephyr’s gaming portfolio, creating a mutually beneficial scenario. After the acquisition, Zephyr gained a partner with extensive resources for user acquisition and scaling, while Tripledot enhanced its portfolio with Zephyr’s new and promising products.
In this context, the acquisition reflects a common strategy among many investors. As market entry becomes more challenging, larger companies increasingly seek to acquire established businesses with ready-to-scale teams and projects.
