Source of image, Rovio< /figure>By Peter HoskinsBusiness reporter
The creator of the Angry Birds video games has agreed to be acquired by the Japanese gaming giant behind the character from Sonic the Hedgehog.
Japanese Sega Sammy Holdings pays €706m (£625m) for Finnish company Rovio Entertainment.
Rovio said Angry Birds was the first mobile game to be downloaded a billion times, and the brand has also produced two Angry Birds movies.
< p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00">Sega is looking to tap into Rovio's expertise in mobile gaming.
Last year Rovio - which has around 550 employees across its eight game studios around the world - said downloads in its stable of games had reached five billion.
En Announcing the deal, Sega said its decision to buy Rovio was driven by the need to "strengthen its position" in the global games market.
He said that this market is expected to reach $263.3 billion by 2026, with the percentage of mobile games expected to reach 56%.
Sega said that it would use Rovio's "distinctive expertise in operating live mobile games" to help bring its own current and new titles to the global mobile games market.
Source of image, Rovio< /figure>By Peter HoskinsBusiness reporter
The creator of the Angry Birds video games has agreed to be acquired by the Japanese gaming giant behind the character from Sonic the Hedgehog.
Japanese Sega Sammy Holdings pays €706m (£625m) for Finnish company Rovio Entertainment.
Rovio said Angry Birds was the first mobile game to be downloaded a billion times, and the brand has also produced two Angry Birds movies.
< p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00">Sega is looking to tap into Rovio's expertise in mobile gaming.
Last year Rovio - which has around 550 employees across its eight game studios around the world - said downloads in its stable of games had reached five billion.
En Announcing the deal, Sega said its decision to buy Rovio was driven by the need to "strengthen its position" in the global games market.
He said that this market is expected to reach $263.3 billion by 2026, with the percentage of mobile games expected to reach 56%.
Sega said that it would use Rovio's "distinctive expertise in operating live mobile games" to help bring its own current and new titles to the global mobile games market.
Source of image, Rovio< /figure>By Peter HoskinsBusiness reporter
