- Sustainable expansion of gamigo’s platform strategy
- Scalable, innovative payments platform
- Strong partnerships: mobile operators and media companies
gamigo AG (“gamigo,” bond ISIN: DE000A1TNJY0), a leading gaming company in Europe and North America, is expanding its mobile payments operations by acquiring 100 percent of mobile business engine GmbH (mbe). mbe’s founders, management and key players will continue to develop this company as part of the gamigo group. The acquisition will enable gamigo to add substantial value to its own platform and the Gaming as a Service offering, pushing forward in one of the largest and most promising growth markets at the same time.
Since its foundation in 2009, mbe has firmly established itself in the mobile payments segment with partners such as Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, O2, E-Plus, Visa and PayPal. In addition to interfaces for online payments for gaming companies, mbe offers payment solutions for local public transportation companies, charitable organizations and business customers such as Rhein Main Verkehrsverbund, Handelsblatt, Stiftung Warentest, the consumer associations Verbraucherzentrale Hamburg and Verbraucherzentrale Niedersachsen, WirtschaftsWoche and WWF, among others.
By acquiring the payments provider, gamigo AG is strengthening and expanding the payments module of its Gaming as a Service platform in a sustainable manner and pushing forward in one of the largest, fastest growing markets. Due in particular to the buoyant growth in the area of mobile games, mobile payment is steadily gaining in importance and experts believe this area will see very dynamic growth over the next few years. An analysis by PwC of mobile payment systems in Germany forecasts that user figures will increase from 0.18 million in 2014 to 11 million users in 2020. According to the study, the market’s growth rates in the B2C sector will be around 100 percent per year during this period. By 2020, the revenue generated by providers of mobile payment systems is expected to rise to about EUR 500 million per year. Last year, it was roughly EUR 7.4 million, according to PwC. The study names security, data protection, multi-channel capability of the solutions in question and wide reach as some of the factors for success in the market for mobile payment systems.
“Buying mbe gives us a clear head start in the gaming industry. We can make greater mobile expertise and payment methods available in a more flexible manner and at better conditions and are reinforcing our own payment module in terms of gamigo’s platform strategy, thereby making an important contribution to growth,” stated Theodor Niehues, a member of gamigo AG’s Management Board.
Frank-J. Arnold, Managing Director of mbe GmbH, is convinced that mbe “ideally complements gaming as one of the service activities of the gamigo group. We believe that this partnership provides significant opportunities for growth.”
mbe will focus on the area of gaming and further advance its existing activities.
The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The acquisition was financed from own funds as well as with bonds.
About gamigo group:
The gamigo group is one of the leading gaming companies in Europe and North America. gamigo was one of the first companies to discover the booming market segment of online games and published the first MMOG that was completely localized into German as early as 2000. Approximately 130 employees in Hamburg, Berlin (Germany), San Francisco, Chicago (USA), Seoul (Korea) and Kaliningrad (Russia) support the three business areas Platform Services (including Gaming as a Service and Game Portals), Publishing free-to-play mobile and online games. gamigo has a wide range of highly popular titles and a loyal customer base, including successful multiplayer online role-playing games such as Fiesta Online and Last Chaos. On top, the games portfolio continues to be further expanded with new titles, such as Wickie Online and Kings and Legends. The gamigo group has a total of well over 40 million registered game accounts worldwide. In addition to multiplayer online games, gamigo is also increasingly investing in mobile games, including games such as Dino Empire and the cross-platform game The Rats.
About mobile business engine GmbH:
Founded in Berlin in 2009, mobile business engine GmbH is a pioneer in the area of online and mobile payments. mbe’s core business areas are Carrier Billing, Payment Service Provisioning and Ticket Solutions. As a driver of innovation, mbe teams up with mobile operators to develop new markets for mobile payment methods. In addition, mbe has integrated other payment methods into its platform such as credit cards, PayPal and ClickandBuy. The innovative company is leaving a lasting mark on the online payments market in particular with its solutions for local public transportation companies and publishing houses. The objective is to further expand payment methods for the area of gaming. mbe provides support to its customers from advising on business processes to the operation of IT systems with an integrated portfolio of sales, fulfillment and payment solutions (via online, mobile and social applications).
If you have any questions in this regard, please contact:
edicto GmbH
Axel Mühlhaus / Werner Rüppel
Tel.: +49 -(0)69-905505-52
Mail: gamigo@edicto.de
www.gamigo-anleihe.de