Israeli social games company Playtika was sold to a Chinese consortium for $4.4 billion in cash, in a deal said to be one of the biggest exits for an Israeli high-tech company. Playtika's sale is topped only by the 2006, $4.5 billion acquisition of Mercury Interactive by Hewlett-Packard. A press release announcing the deal said the Chinese group, led by Shanghai-based Giant Network Technology, finalized its deal with Israel's Playtika on Sunday morning. The consortium includes Yunfeng Capital, a private equity firm founded by Alibaba Group Holding founder Jack Ma; the China Oceanwide Holdings Group; China Minsheng Trust Co; CDH China HF Holdings; and the Hony Capital Fund. Founded in 2010 by Uri Shahak and Robert Antokol, Playtika pioneered free-to-play games on social networks and mobile platforms, and created popular titles such as Slotomania, House of Fun and Bingo Blitz, which consistently rank among the top-grossing games on Apple's App Store, Google Play and Facebook. The company's games are played daily by more than 6 million people in 190 countries, in 12 languages and on more than 10 platforms. Playtika is headquartered in Herzliya and has offices in the United States, Canada, Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Japan, Romania and Ukraine. The Chinese consortium bought Playtika, whose developments includes online casino-style games, from Caesars Interactive Entertainment's online games unit. The U.S.-based Caesars acquired Playtika in 2011 for $170 million. "Following the transaction Playtika will continue to run independently with its headquarters remaining in Herzliya, Israel, and its existing management team continuing to run day-to-day operations," the statement said. "This transaction is a testament to Playtika's unique culture and the innovative spirit of our employees who for the past six years have consistently designed, produced and operated some of the most compelling, immersive and creative social games in the world," Playtika co-founder and CEO Robert Antokol said. "We are incredibly excited by the commercial opportunities the consortium will make available to us, particularly in its ability to provide us access to large and rapidly growing emerging markets. This is an amazing milestone for all Playtikans, and we truly value how unique this opportunity is, to continue executing our vision with such a strong partner." Giant's founder and Chairman Shi Yuzhu said, "Playtika's growth has been exceptional and highlights its outstanding team, excellent corporate culture, cutting-edge big data analytics and its unique ability to transform and grow games. We are looking forward to Playtika continuing to innovate and excel." Caesars Interactive Entertainment CEO, Mitch Garber added, "It has been a particularly rewarding experience growing Playtika from a 10-person start-up, when CIE acquired them in 2011, into a global leader. Today Playtika is a highly profitable growth company with more than 1,300 employees, multiple top grossing titles and millions of daily users. Robert is a true visionary and Israeli business leader who has created not only a great business, but also the most unique corporate culture I have seen in my career."
