SYBO and its mobile evergreen Subway Surfers to join Miniclip Portfolio
SYBO announced today that it has been acquired by Miniclip, a world leader of market-defining mobile games. The acquisition is set to complete this July following the legacy game’s 10th anniversary and a record-breaking banner year across daily installs, daily active users and daily revenues. The combined companies reach over 70m daily active users.
“We are so thankful for the vision, expertise and execution from Mathias and the whole SYBO Team, who have strengthened Subway Surfers both creatively and commercially during this past decade,” said SYBO’s co-founder, Sylvester Rishøj Jensen. “Subway Surfers has continued to be a successful mobile game for millions of fans worldwide, year after year.”
“When we started this 10 years ago, our dream was to create something special that would be loved for generations to come. The whole company, and our incredible fans, have driven the game to stellar heights. We have really had perfect flow in our partnership and gaming adventure, which has now culminated in what is one of the biggest – if not the biggest – deals in Danish gaming history. It’s a legacy we are both very proud of,” said SYBO’s co-founder Bodie Jahn-Mulliner.
SYBO Chief Executive Officer, Mathias Gredal Nørvig, said, “We are incredibly thankful to our Founders for their vision and trust. 15 years after Sylvester and Bodie started working together, 10 years after Subway Surfers came to market and 5 years after I took the helm as CEO, we now wrap up the first season of SYBO’s journey with a great promise of what’s to come.
“Miniclip brings to SYBO added experience, reach and strength as we celebrate our tenth anniversary and look to the next decade and beyond. I am so proud! Proud of our game development teams, all support functions, and management team, for passionately expanding the Subway Surfers game experience, remaining committed to the formula our community loves, and to continue delivering surprise and delight for Subway Surfers fans on multiple platforms and genres. Miniclip offers us an opportunity to further grow and amplify, while still keeping to our core values and Team culture.”
“Since its launch in May 2012, the Subway Surfers mobile game has grown to more than 150 million monthly active players, it holds the title as the most downloaded mobile game, it was the world’s first game to cross one billion downloads on Google Play, and the most downloaded endless runner game in Apple’s App Store’s history”, said Saad Choudri, Miniclip’s CEO. “Miniclip has always had a strong focus on building high quality games that unleash the gamer in everyone, which has helped define the business and allowed us to lead in a crowded marketplace, delivering consistent growth through building our M&A with fantastic and innovative new partners. Which is why the SYBO Team felt like such a natural fit, having developed one of the world’s most popular games. They have a proven record of delivering and maintaining an incredible gamer experience, as well as continuing to grow virally. We are beyond excited to welcome them into the Miniclip family as we empower them to keep running and running!”
Under Gredal Nørvig’s leadership, a team of savvy and experienced executives has navigated an industry of opportunities and challenges. The company plans to keep the current Management Team in place with David Byrne, who joined in 2018 as Chief Operating Officer and Head of Games; Naz Amarchi-Cuevas, who joined in 2017 as Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Marketing; Anne Schnack Hansen, who joined in 2018 as Chief People Officer; and Andreas Glenvig, who joined in 2019 as Finance Director.
Miniclip has released some of the world’s most downloaded games. Founded in 2001, the Company has successfully grown a huge global audience in over 195 countries and across six continents, with more than 60 games in its growing portfolio, leading to the studio exceeding three billion downloads by the end of June 2020, before reaching four billion downloads in Q1 2022. SYBO is among the latest game developer acquisitions, following the recent acquisitions of Supersonic Software (One Clue Crossword and Picture Cross) and Eight Pixels Square (Sniper Strike: Special Ops).
The Raine Group served as the exclusive advisor to SYBO in its sale to Miniclip. And Bech Bruun acted as legal and tax counsel to SYBO.
Moalem Weitemeyer served as Legal advisors to Miniclip
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