Social game developer 6waves Lolapps (6L), backed by Japan-based games developer Nexon, completed its acquisition of US-based mobile game developer Escalation Studios on Wednesday, paying an undisclosed amount.
The acquisition of Escalation, in which investment firm GCA Savvian acted as advisor, is the second made by 6L in the last few months, having previously acquired another social gaming company, Smartron5, in October.
In August Nexon has joined Insight Venture Partners backing 6l, which was formed from the merger of 6waves and LoLapps. At that point, the company raised $35m, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.
In July the gaming company was formed from the merger of 6waves and LoLapps, uniting a stable of games including Resort World and Ravenwood Fair. Hong Kong-based 6waves raised $17.5m from venture capital firm Insight Venture Partners in 2009, while US-based Lolapps raised at least $3.5m in 2008, according to a SEC filing. LoLapps was backed by Polaris Venture Partners and angel investor Ron Conway, according to news provider Private Equity Hub.
Escalation differs from Smartron5 in that its focus lies chiefly in mobile gaming, as opposed to the more general social games developed by Smartron5 and 6L. The deal follows the launch of a $10m fund by 6L in September, with the stated intention to expand into mobile gaming through investment in outside developers.
Commenting on the Escalation purchase, Rex Ng, chief executive officer of 6L, said: "We will double our business in 2012 and mobile will play a significant role in our growth on both the publishing and development sides of our business. This addition to our team brings some of the mobile gaming industry’s most impressive talent into our fold and sends a clear signal that we are as serious about innovation in mobile as we have been in social."
Post-acquisition, 6L will retain Escalation’s Dallas office as its employees become a part of 6L’s development team, expanding staff numbers to 210 worldwide. Of Escalation’s co-founders, Tom Mustaine and Marc Tardiff will take up roles as design directors for 6L while Shawn Green has been appointed 6L’s director of engineering.
Arjun Sethi, chief product officer of 6L, said: "We were initially interested in Escalation Studios because of their reputation within the industry. When we sat down and saw their roadmap we recognized immediately how deeply their goals and capabilities align with our own. Their addition to our team will enable us to launch some of 2012’s most innovative mobile games."