This post has not been edited by the GamesBeat staff. Opinions by GamesBeat community writers do not necessarily reflect those of the staff.
EA is no stranger to buying companies whose acquisition may be a benefit in the long run. In the last ten years they’ve managed to purchase no less than 21 different developers; ranging from small mobile teams to well established franchise carrying companies. EA has bought more companies in the last decade than you’ve probably bought pants. You can add another notch to the belt now that EA recently announced they are buying PopCap for a whopping $750 million.
This is a big move by EA, who is looking to bolster their digital presence in the light of Facebook games taking off and casual touch games becoming more and more popular. So what does $750 million buy EA? Some really respectable games actually, Peggle and their smug little Unicorn for starters. Everyone's favorite gem-murdering sim Bejewelled and the historically accurate Zuma come along with it. As if that weren't enough, there is also the biggest PopCap release to date – the award winning Plants Vs. Zombies; which has made over $1 million from the iOS version alone.
While EA is gaining plenty with this acquisition, PopCap is getting quite a bit of money in exchange; and with more promised in the long run. The deal has EA paying $650 million in cash as well as $100 million in shares of EA common stock to select PopCap employees – with another $550 million promised if PopCap can meet their earnings target by 2013. Altogether, the deal has PopCap potentially earning $1.3 billion.
Time will tell if acquiring PopCap will prove to be as lucrative as EA hopes, but all signs point to yes.