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This year’s big gaming acquirers include Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft — and now Churchill Downs. Yep, that one.
The parent company of the famous horse-racing track, which also owns other tracks and casinos as well as online gambling and wagering sites Luckity and TwinSpires, has bought Seattle-based casual gaming company Big Fish for $485 million, mostly in cash. An additional $350 million will be paid out if Big Fish meets its 2015 EBITDA goals, and CEO Paul Thelen will receive an additional $50 million if 2016 bookings (a form of revenue) are up to snuff.
About $15 million of the initial $385 million will be paid to Thelen in common stock of Churchill Downs Incorporated.
The acquisition may seem unusual on its face, but actually makes a lot of sense. Big Fish offers hundreds of games for both browsers and mobile devices, but one of its biggest successes is a “social casino” game called Big Fish Casino, a mainstay of the top-grossing charts on iOS and Android.
(Social casino games, for the uninitiated, don’t let players win any real money, so they’re legal everywhere for all ages — but they’re often extremely profitable because players buy virtual currency within them that then doesn’t have to be paid back out.)
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I didn't really expect Churchill Downs to pay $885 million for Big Fish Gaming which makes Casual games on Facebook. PC, phones, and tablets.
The parent company of the famous horse-racing track, which also owns other tracks and casinos as well as online gambling and wagering sites Luckity and TwinSpires, has bought Seattle-based casual gaming company Big Fish for $485 million, mostly in cash. An additional $350 million will be paid out if Big Fish meets its 2015 EBITDA goals, and CEO Paul Thelen will receive an additional $50 million if 2016 bookings (a form of revenue) are up to snuff.
About $15 million of the initial $385 million will be paid to Thelen in common stock of Churchill Downs Incorporated.
The acquisition may seem unusual on its face, but actually makes a lot of sense. Big Fish offers hundreds of games for both browsers and mobile devices, but one of its biggest successes is a “social casino” game called Big Fish Casino, a mainstay of the top-grossing charts on iOS and Android.
(Social casino games, for the uninitiated, don’t let players win any real money, so they’re legal everywhere for all ages — but they’re often extremely profitable because players buy virtual currency within them that then doesn’t have to be paid back out.)
Read More
I didn't really expect Churchill Downs to pay $885 million for Big Fish Gaming which makes Casual games on Facebook. PC, phones, and tablets.
