The Herzliya-based Israeli social gaming developer ‘Plarium Global Limited’ has just been acquired by Australia’s Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. for $500 million.
The Israeli startup, founded in 2009, has grown to a worldwide firm with offices in Europe and the United States with more than 1,200 employees.
Plarium now has nine key game titles and a strong game pipeline; its most popular game to this point is Vikings: War of Clans.
CEO and cofounder Avraham Shalel is set to continue to lead Plarium after the acquisition, according to the Globes business news site, along with 12 other key members of the management team who agreed to wait for part of their payment until 2020.
“Aristocrat is an ideal partner for us,” said Shalel, “given our common aspiration to be a global leader in social gaming, which will be accelerated through leveraging Aristocrat’s financial, strategic and operational resources.”
The deal is to be completed by December 2017.
