Game industry acquisition deals turned red hot in the last 12 months (exclusive)

Video game industry deals were smoking hot in the first half of 2014 and the second half of 2013, according to data dissected by merger and acquisition advisory firm Corum Group.

Alina Soltys, senior analyst at the Corum Group, said in an interview with GamesBeat that the number of game acquisitions in the first half of 2014 was 78, or the highest in the past couple of years. The number of deals hit record levels in both the first half of 2014 and the second half of 2013, based on an analysis going back to 2009.

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Not counting billion-dollar transactions, the value of merger and acquisition deals was $2.27 billion in the first half of 2014, and it was $3.05 billion in the second half of 2013. And, excluding billion-dollar deals, the average deal size is increasing significantly. In 2009, the average deal value was $42 million. By the first half of 2014, it was $84 million, up 98.9 percent over five years.

The average value of a deal in the first half of 2014 ($84 million) was up 57 percent from $53.5 million in the first half of 2013.

The Corum Group analyzed announced deals in the press, and it included both majority and minority deals. Transaction related to both game studios and the larger game ecosystem were included. Only announced or available deal values are included. The billion-dollar-plus deals were excluded only where noted.