Playtika launches investment fund
Playtika, the social casino games developer owned by a group that includes Alibaba tycoon Jack Ma, has opened a new investment arm that aims to provide up to $400m for digital entertainment and consumer internet businesses.
Called Playtika Growth Investments, the division will target companies that are already profitable or near breakeven with proven business models and products.
Israel-based Playtika, the firm behind Slotomania and main shirt sponsor of Spanish football team Sevilla, has invested $300m in more than 10 acquisitions since it was founded in 2010.
Firms it invests in will also gain access to Playtika’s marketing, monetisation, technology and product teams.
“Playtika’s operational teams oversee hundreds of millions of dollars in marketing budgets, the processing and analysis of more than 6 terabytes of data daily, and more than a billion dollars of revenue,” said Playtika Growth MD Eric Rapps.
“They have been instrumental in Playtika’s success from a 10-person startup to a global market leader with 1,700 employees across 14 offices in 10 countries. For the first time, their expertise will be made available to other companies and will help drive exceptional company performance and investment returns.”
Playtika was bought by a Chinese private equity consortium led by Giant Network Group in 2016 for $4.4bn.
Related article: Playtika signs shirt sponsorship deal with Sevilla