Dubai: Swedish gaming studio Stillfront Group will pick Middle East’s card gaming network Jawaker for Dh753 million. This is the largest acquisition in the Arab world’s gaming sector.
Founded in 2009, Jawaker was the first Middle East based card games website. It enables players to connect with their friends without having to download an application.
In 2011, twofour54 signed a financial investment agreement with Jawaker. “These investments not only create financial value but also contribute significantly to building Abu Dhabi’s gaming infrastructure and developing homegrown talent,” said Michael Garin, CEO of twofour54.
Under the deal confirmed, Stillfront will acquire 100 per cent of the shares in Jawaker from its owners, which include twofour54, and will pay 74 per cent in cash and 26 per cent with newly-issued shares in Stillfront.
Stillfront has previously marketed games published by Babil Games, a game publisher.
“With investments in leading online gaming companies such as Jawaker, twofour54 is truly demonstrating that it is a pioneer of the regional gaming industry,” said James Hartt, Director, Strategy & Business Development for AD Gaming.
Among twofour54’s initiatives to support regional gaming is a dedicated Centre of Excellence, which will be located at Yas Creative Hub. It will provide on-the-ground support to students, professionals and small businesses throughout the Middle East and Africa. This comes as part of a 10-year partnership with Unity Technologies, the world’s leading platform for creating and operating interactive, real-time 3D (RT3D) content.
