Glu Mobile Inc, a leading global developer and publisher of free-to-play games for smartphone and tablet devices, announced today that it has acquired a controlling interest in Crowdstar, a global leader in mobile and social gaming, developing entertainment for women all around the world, in an all-cash transaction valuing Crowdstar at approximately $45.5 million. The combination of Crowdstar and Glu positions Glu to become the leader in the growing fashion game category as Glu continues to diversify its content portfolio.
“We are excited to welcome Crowdstar’s talented team into the Glu family,” said Nick Earl, newly named CEO of Glu Mobile. “Crowdstar is an innovative company that we have long respected, with a proven track-record of building highly social and interactive mobile community platforms. By joining forces through this strategic and complementary transaction, we plan to leverage Crowdstar’s valuable IP and veteran team, which is based right here in the Bay Area, to continue creating exciting cross-platform content that captures and resonates with even more users.”
As a leading developer in the fashion games space, Crowdstar’s portfolio currently features Covet: Fashion, a fashion entertainment app that allows users to style head-to-toe looks with actual brands. Having achieved over 30 million downloads worldwide, Covet: Fashion has consistently held a position in the top 125 on the U.S. Top Grossing charts for all iPhone apps over the past two years. On November 2, 2016 Covet: Fashion held the #80 Top Grossing position for all iPhone apps on Apple’s App Store in the U.S. Crowdstar currently has approximately 90 employees and is headquartered in Burlingame, California.
Crowdstar’s forthcoming platform product, Design Home, utilizes the advanced Covet engine and features platform capabilities targeted toward the interior and home design app markets including photo-realistic graphics. Design Home is currently in beta testing in Canada and reached #54 Canada App Store Top Grossing chart position for all iPhone apps on November 2, 2016. We expect Design Home to be launched in early 2017.
“I am proud of our team for consummating such an exciting transaction that we believe offers significant growth opportunities for Glu in the fashion and home categories,” said Niccolo de Masi, Glu’s Executive Chairman. “Specifically, the Crowdstar acquisition brings to Glu a leadership position in the fashion category and a potential long-term annuity in Covet: Fashion. In addition, Design Home is exhibiting promising potential in early beta results as a platform, and we are optimistic that it can be a significant growth driver for the company in 2017.”
Glu also believes it has the potential to realize significant user acquisition, advertising revenue and celebrity partnership synergies by integrating Crowdstar.
For a more detailed discussion of the terms of Glu’s acquisition of a controlling interest in Crowdstar, see the Current Report on Form 8-K that Glu file with the SEC today.
