3 Oct 2016 12:00
Acquisition of mobile games developer Pixonic.
3rd October Mail.Ru Group Limited (LSE: MAIL, hereinafter referred as "the Company" or "the Group"), one of the largest Internet companies in the Russian-speaking Internet market, today announces the acquisition of 100% of mobile games developer Pixonic. The agreement was signed on 30 September 2016 with imminent completion in the next business days.
Pixonic was founded in 2009 and currently has over 100 employees. It is best known for War Robots which in September 2016 passed 20m installs just three months after its previous milestone of 15m installs. This is divided between 7m iOS players and 13m on Android. Daily users exceeds 500k. The games popularity is highest in the United States, Japan, China, Korea and Germany (in that order), with Russia placing 6th, having amassed 1.5 million installs.
The transaction is an all cash deal for $30m, with $20m upfront and $10m deferred and based on ongoing KPI's.
In FY 2015 Pixonic had revenues of RUB 456m. In H1 2016 Pixonic had revenues of RUB 619m. In both periods Pixonic was broadly EBITDA neutral.
Mail.Ru Group will fully consolidate Pixonic from the beginning of Q4 2016 and will disclose all results on a pro-forma basis going forward to allow like for like comparison.
Commenting on the acquisition Mail.Ru Group Chairman and CEO (Russia), Dmitry Grishin said:
"We are very pleased to be adding one of the world's most talented teams of mobile games developers. There is a clear strategic fit here and we look forward to working together to strengthen our international mobile games development and publishing and take the company's games to even further success"
Commenting on the acquisition Pixonic CEO, Philipp Gladkov said:
"The Pixonic and Mail.Ru Group teams share a common vision for the development of mobile games in the global market and we look forward to joining our skills and expertise to increase the reach of War Robots and create future releases".
Notes to announcement:
Pixonic's revenue and EBITDA numbers presented herein are prepared based on principles used for the segment financial information of the Company's consolidated operations, i.e. do not include certain adjustments which would be required under IFRS. The accounting principles used in segment financial reporting are described in more detail in the Company's prior announcements.
For Further Information Please Contact:
Investors
Matthew Hammond
Phone: +971 505 56 1315
E-mail: hammond@corp.mail.ru
Press
Madina Tayupova
Phone: +7 926 510 50 21
E-mail: m.tayupova@corp.mail.ru
Cautionary Statement regarding Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains statements of expectation and other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of the Company. You can identify forward looking statements by terms such as "expect", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "forecast", "intend", "will", "could", "may" or "might", the negative of such terms or other similar expressions including "outlook" or "guidance". The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon various assumptions that are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and may be beyond the Company's control. Actual results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward looking statements herein. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward looking statements included herein, including competition in the marketplace, changes in consumer preferences, the degree of Internet penetration and online advertising in Russia, concerns about data security, claims of intellectual property infringement, adverse media speculation, changes in political, social, legal or economic conditions in Russia, exchange rate fluctuations, and the Company's success in identifying and responding to these and other risks involved in its business, including those referenced under "Risk Factors" in the Company's public filings. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date they were made, and the Company does not intend to amend or update these statements except to the extent required by law to reflect events and circumstances occurring after the date hereof.
About Mail.Ru Group
Mail.Ru Group (LSE:MAIL, listed since November 5, 2010) is a leading company in the Russian-speaking Internet markets (Russia is Europe's largest Internet market measured by the number of users, comScore). Mail.Ru Group's sites reach approximately 93% of Russian Internet users on a monthly basis (comScore, June 2016).
In line with the 'communitainment' (communication plus entertainment) strategy, the Company is building an integrated communications and entertainment platform. The Company owns Russia's leading email service and one of Russia's largest internet portal, Mail.Ru (TNS, all Russia, age 12-64, June 2016). The Company operates the three largest Russian language social networks, Vkontakte (VK), Odnoklassniki (OK) and Moi Mir (My World), and Russia's largest online games business (including such gaming titles as Warface, Armored Warfare, Skyforge and Perfect World). The Company also includes a leading OpenStreetMap-based offline mobile maps and navigation service MAPS.ME, two instant messaging (IM) services, Mail.Ru Agent and ICQ, which are popular in Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and other products.
The Company holds minority equity stakes in Qiwi (1.31%) and a number of small venture capital investments in various Internet companies in Russia, Ukraine and Israel.