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bne June 2018 Companies & Markets I 23
bne:Tech
Russia's Mail.ru acquires Bit.Games developer
IntelliNews Pro
Russian internet services major Mail.ru acquired 51% in Bit.Games mobile and online games developer, the company said on April 25.
The amount of the deal was not disclosed. The games developed by Bit.Games such as Domovyata and the Guild of Heroes has gathered over 17mn users over various platforms. The monthly revenues of the Guild of Heroes RPG alone soared 10-fold year-on-year exceeding $1mn, according to the press release.
The acquisition continues Mail.ru investment in the gaming seg- ment. In January the group owned by tycoon Alisher Usmanov acquired 100% of leading online sports store ESforce in an all- cash transaction for $100mn less any outstanding debt.
Mail.ru is also one of the largest investors in cybersports, back in 2015, Usmanov investing $100mn in Virtus.Pro, a company in charge of cybersport tournaments, in one of the highest-value cybersport deals in Russia. In 2017 Mail.ru said it will be launching its own cybersports league.
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