MAG Interactive (publ) acquires Swedish game developer Apprope

The company expands in the word puzzle category by acquiring the Swedish game studio Apprope.

Stockholm, Sweden - 21 December 2020 - MAG Interactive announces today the acquisition of the Swedish game studio Apprope through an initial cash purchase price of SEK 50 million on the day of closing with an additional purchase price of a maximum of SEK 50 million based on profits for the next three years. The purchase is financed through existing cash and bank financing. Closing takes place 4 January 2021.

Apprope is a Swedish mobile game developer, founded in 2012. The company develops games aimed at a casual audience, with a focus on games within the word category. 55 million players have played Apprope's games and several of their products have ranked high on the US charts. The company is most famous for the word game Word Bubbles, which has in the past six years generated around ten million downloads, had sales of approximately SEK 100 million and reached the top download charts in the word game category in the US on both App Store and Google Play.

In the fall of 2020, the word puzzle game Word Mansion launched on iOS and Android, and the game has grown rapidly in both downloads and sales. Word Mansion's puzzle mechanic is framed by an interactive story that revolves around renovation and decoration. Known as a meta-game, this format has increased in popularity within the casual genre in recent years. The acquisition of Apprope creates an opportunity for MAG to accelerate growth in this category of games.

“We are impressed by Apprope's combination of rapid development and high quality, together with a clear focus on profitability. They have structured their product development in such a way that we see good opportunities to build more products with the same game engine as Word Mansion. The founders Daniel Lodin and Markus Wedenborn are both entrepreneurial people who fit perfectly with MAG. They bring a strong self-drive combined with a deep understanding of both the entertainment value and the commercial part of mobile gaming. We see clear synergies in the future where MAG can contribute with experience and technology in, for example, game analysis and user acquisition. We also provide a corporate culture that enables them to do what they do best: to build quality games at a fast pace. We look forward to welcoming Daniel and Markus to the MAG family in January”, says Daniel Hasselberg, CEO of MAG Interactive.

In addition to Word Mansion, Apprope has a portfolio of word and trivia games that have generated a surplus of more than SEK ten million per year in recent years. The company has been profitable since the start and recorded sales of SEK 17.5 million in the most recent financial year, which ended in August 2020, with a profit of SEK 11.4 million.

“The profitability aspect has been important in designing this deal. The entire variable part of the purchase price is based on the sellers receiving a share of future profits. MAG and the founders of Apprope thus receive joint incentives to maximize the profitability of Apprope over the next three years”, Daniel Hasselberg continues.

The founders of Apprope, Daniel Lodin and Markus Wedenborn, are the company's only employees and from closing they will work from MAG's headquarters in Stockholm.

“We have always been big fans of MAG. They have repeatedly shown great flair for entertaining games, with many classic and new exciting titles in their successful portfolio. That's why we see Daniel's and MAG's trust as proof of Apprope's strength and potential - and we are incredibly proud and inspired to join the same creative family. It will be exciting to get off to a flying start next year by taking part in the opportunities to grow that will result from close collaboration - and create magic together”, says Markus Wedenborn, CEO of Apprope.

Apprope continues as an independent company within the MAG Group, but with access to the services MAG can offer to create maximum growth and profitability.

This is information that MAG Interactive AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out below, at 08:00 on December 21, 2020.