iCandy Interactive acquires stake in game developer Mighty Kingdom
iCandy Interactive has acquired a near 8% shareholding in ASX peer Mighty Kingdom.
iCandy Interactive (ASX: ICI) has announced it has acquired a stake in fellow ASX-listed game developer Mighty Kingdom (ASX: MKL) in an effort to expand its reach in the gaming sector.
More than 11.78 million shares were acquired at $0.135 each for a total of $1.59 million, representing a 7.78% equity position and funded by iCandy’s existing cash reserves.
The company said the acquisition fits with its strategy of expanding its reach within the Asian gaming sector and driving value through collaboration.
Mighty Kingdom is one of the largest Australian-headquartered game developers and its business is very similar in nature to iCandy.
Since forming in 2010, Mighty Kingdom has released more than 50 games that have been played by more than 50 million players around the world. It has previously worked alongside international brands including Disney, Lego, the Australian Red Cross, Moose Toys, Funcom, Rogue and Snapchat.
“iCandy views the team, existing portfolio and the forward pipeline at Mighty Kingdom favourably and believes that potential business synergies can be explored through leveraging iCandy’s expertise in game development and distribution, especially into high value gaming markets in Asia,” the company stated.
iCandy chairman Kin Wai Lau said this significant stake in Mighty Kingdom is considered a “potential starting point of various opportunities to drive value for both companies”.
Compelling value opportunity
iCandy said Mighty Kingdom was an attractive proposition when compared to regional peers, being one of only a handful of gaming companies listed on the ASX and as such represents a “compelling value opportunity for shareholders”.
Today’s news follows iCandy’s announcement last month of an on-market share buyback program of the company’s own shares in line with shareholder value maximisation.
The company’s recent achievements also include the successful launches of its game titles Claw Stars in June this year and Masketeers: Idle Has Fallen last October.
iCandy’s internal development pipeline includes the release of hyper-casual game platform and games under Nextgamer as well as the soon-to-be-released game from the joint venture with Lemon Sky Studios, Sky Candy.