Stay Informed
Get Industry News In Your Inbox…
Sign Up Today
Modern Times Group (MTG) has acquired Raid: Shadow Legends maker Plarium from Aristocrat Leisure in a $620 million deal.
The purchase is expected to double MTG’s size and “substantially improve” its cashflow generation. The move comes after Plarium and Big Fish Games were put up for sale earlier this year as Aristrocrat announced its intention to exit out of games outside of social casino.
Raiding together
MTG’s deal will see it take 100% ownership of Plarium. A total of $20m of the acquisition figure will be deferred into 2026. The deal will by offset by cash flow generated from Q4 2024 through to the closing of the deal, planned for Q1 2025, MTG said.
Plarium generated $613m in revenue with an adjusted EBITDA of $137m in the 12 months ending September 30th, 2024. MTG hopes to benefit from its technology and expertise in monetisation, marketing and live ops.
Combined, the companies are expected to exceed SEK 12 billion ($1.1bn) in annual revenue and SEK 3 billion (S275.9m) in adjusted EBITDA, according to MTG’s estimates.
The transaction will be be paid in cash as well as secured financing of $460m.
“I am proud and excited to welcome Plarium to MTG in this transformative deal, which elevates MTG into a leading European gaming group,” said MTG group president and CEO Maria Redin.
“In Plarium, we have found a great partner to evolve and accelerate together. They bring an exciting and highly successful portfolio of live games spearheaded by Raid: Shadow Legends, an exceptional evergreen mid-core IP, to our line-up.”
MRG EVP of gaming Arnd Benninghoff added: “The acquisition of Plarium enables us to significantly accelerate our ambition to build a strong ecosystem that can support gaming companies, setting the stage for future growth. All of this will be supported and enabled by strong and consistent cash flows.
“Our ambition has always been to build for the long term. We are delighted to welcome Plarium into our Gaming Village, where their world-leading evergreen games can continue to shine. To put it simply – we are huge fans and we can’t wait to continue building our future together.”
New targets
A Capital Markets Day will be held by MTG in the first half of 2025 to present new long-term financial goals and the acquisition’s impact on strategy and future ambitions.
“Plarium also has best-in-class tools for user acquisition and monetisation. These tools will complement our own Flow Platform and boost the performance of some of our existing live titles,” Redin added.
