Playtika acquires Tel Aviv-based Jelly Button

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Playtika, one of the world's leading social gaming companies, has entered into a definitive agreement with Jelly Button, a Tel Aviv-based casual games maker for social networks and mobile devices.

Jelly Button has a track record of operating successful casual games that attract large audiences, having been downloaded more than 80 million times. The company, founded in 2011, is based in Tel Aviv and has approximately 80 employees.

Playtika has a long and successful M&A history, having acquired three of its core titles shortly after their launch, notably Bingo Blitz, World Series of Poker and House of Fun. All three games now regularly rank atop the Top Grossing charts on Facebook, the App Store and Google Play.

"Since our first acquisition in 2012, Playtika has been successful at identifying promising products and teams and leveraging our marketing, monetization and analytics capabilities to materially grow our acquired businesses," says Robert Antokol, Co-Founder and CEO of Playtika. "Jelly Button has exactly that — a great team and great products — and we are excited to take Jelly Button's games to the next level."

The acquisition represents an important part of Playtika's long-term vision to become the leading mobile gaming company in the world. To execute on this vision, Playtika is diversifying into new game genres beyond its core market of casino-themed games and Jelly Button's casual games represent the first steps towards realizing this goal.

"As an Israeli company and a mobile games company, we have long been amazed by Playtika's success. This is an incredible opportunity to leverage their resources and expertise in monetization and combine them with our creativity," says Jelly Button CEO, Ron Saranga. "Ultimately, the biggest beneficiaries of this transaction are our players."

Jelly Button will continue to operate from its offices in Tel Aviv and the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

Raz Dlugin & Co. served as legal advisor to Playtika.

Goldfarb Seligman & Co. served as legal advisor to Jelly Button.