The $620 million sale of Plarium Global, Aristocrat Leisure Ltd.‘s mobile gaming branch, to Modern Times Group (MTG) has been finalized. A further $170 million payout is also included in the agreement if Plarium reaches certain sales goals by 2028.
Known for popular video games like Vikings: War of Clans and Raid: Shadow Legends, Plarium first joined Aristocrat in 2017 for $500 million. Strong financial performance was demonstrated by the corporation, which reported $613 million in revenue and $137 million in EBITDA over the previous year.
MTG, a Sweden-based entertainment and gaming company, sees Plarium as a major addition to its portfolio. CEO Maria Redin highlighted the impact of this acquisition: “They bring an exciting and highly successful portfolio of live games spearheaded by Raid: Shadow Legends, an exceptional evergreen mid-core IP, to our line-up. Plarium also has best-in-class tools for user acquisition and monetization that will complement our own Flow Platform.”
Aristocrat Restructures Social Gaming Under Product Madness
Following the sale, Aristocrat is reorganizing its social gaming division, previously known as Pixel United, under a new brand called Product Madness.
The restructuring significantly impacts Big Fish Games, another Aristocrat-owned studio. The company will halt new game development, cut investments, and shift focus to efficiently managing existing titles. CEO Trevor Croker explained the company’s new direction: “With the completion of our strategic review, Aristocrat is well-placed to accelerate our refreshed growth strategy. We are deepening management focus and targeting investment behind our core strengths in regulated gaming and gaming-themed content.”
Aristocrat’s finances are still solid. The company’s FY2024 revenue of AU$6.6 billion ($4.31 billion) was a 4.9% rise over FY2023 revenue. EBITDA increased 18.5% to $2.45 billion, while net profit increased 17.2% to $1.56 billion.
With an Adjusted EBITDA of $656 million and a $634 million profit, the company’s social gaming division—now under Product Madness—generated $1.75 billion in revenue.
As part of the changeover, Superna Kalle, the Chief Strategy Officer at Aristocrat, will continue to serve as the leader of Product Madness.
After the sale is completed, Aristocrat intends to create a capital management structure with the money raised. The company anticipates that its FY2025 financial statements will show a gain on sale.
The post Aristocrat Finalizes Plarium Sale, Restructures Social Gaming Operations appeared first on iGaming.org.