BELLEVUE, Wash.-Two U.S. content companies made European purchases. Mforma Group Inc.’s spending spree continued as the mobile entertainment publisher acquired U.K. gaming company Blue Beck.
A 3-year-old creator of console and mobile titles for Electronic Arts, THQ, Jamdat and Mforma, Blue Beck has become a wholly owned subsidiary of Mforma. All employees will stay with the company, operating from Blue Beck’s Manchester headquarters.
“Blue Beck is one of the top studios in the world,” said Daniel Kranzler, Mforma’s chief executive officer. “They are one of the most talented, consistent, disciplined and prolific developers we’ve worked with, and we are very pleased to have them on our team … This will benefit the entire mobile entertainment industry.”
After two successful funding rounds earlier this year, Mforma has been actively acquiring smaller mobile entertainment companies. Mforma secured $44 million in investment capital earlier this year and followed that with a $19 million round in August. The company could increase the most recent figure to $40 million based on its need for pending acquisitions, it said.
In other acquisition news, North Carolina-based content provider PowerByHand has acquired European mobile content portal Mobile2Day.de in a bid to strengthen its European presence. A press release cites a study by the Yankee Group indicating European wireless data revenues will more than double during the next five years to $50 billion.
“Approximately 30 percent of the visitors to our sites are from outside the United States,” said Ryan Wuerch, PowerByHand’s chief executive officer. “This acquisition will provide those customers with localized sites and mobile content to better meet their needs.”
