The Draw Something app, by OMGPOP
An overview of the week in deals in the Irish and global technology sector.
Zynga acquires Draw Something maker OMGPOP
Social gaming company Zynga has acquired OMGPOP, the makers of popular app Draw Something, in a deal believed to be worth US$210m.
According to TechCrunch, Zynga paid US$180m upfront plus a US$30m earnout to acquire the company.
The deal makes OMGPOP’s CEO Dan Porter a general manager and vice-president of Zynga New York. OMGPOP’s employees will also join Zynga. Porter said nothing would change under the deal and Draw Something would gain new features such as chat, sharing and galleries much faster.
The acquisition is a major gain for Zynga. OMGPOP was established in 2006 and has made more than 35 social games. It’s responsible for making the Pictionary-style app Draw Something for Facebook, iOS and Android devices. The game has been out just six weeks but has been downloaded more than 30m times since. It recently became the most-used app on Facebook.
Instagram and Hipstamatic form photo-sharing partnership
Instagram is joining forces with fellow photo-filtering and photo-sharing app Hipstamatic to open up photo sharing in Instagram.
Hipstamatic, which as 4m users, has experienced a shift in its user base toward Instagram, Hipstamatic co-founder and CEO Lucas Buick told Fast Company.
Under the partnership, Hipstamatic users will have the option to share photos to Instagram, along with other social networks. Users will be able to add a filter and other effects as usual from the app, and when the photo appears on Instagram it will carry a “Taken with Hipstamatic” attribution.
Amazon to acquire Kiva Systems
E-commerce giant Amazon.com has reached an agreement to acquire order material handling company Kiva Systems, Inc, for US$775m in cash.
The deal will bring more robotic technology to Amazon’s network of warehouses.
“Amazon has long used automation in its fulfilment centres, and Kiva’s technology is another way to improve productivity by bringing the products directly to employees to pick, pack and stow,” said Dave Clark, vice-president, global customer fulfilment, Amazon.com.
Symantec to acquire Nukona, Inc
Security software maker Symantec has signed an agreement to acquire mobile application management provider Nukona, Inc, for an undisclosed sum.
The acquisition extends Symantec’s enterprise mobility portfolio to include a cross-platform mobile application protection solution to help IT organisations protect and isolate corporate data and applications across both corporate-owned and personally owned devices.
“As the adoption of mobile devices and apps continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, one of the biggest challenges for customers is to protect and manage the native apps, data and environments of these devices,” said CJ Desai, senior vice-president, Endpoint and Mobility Group, Symantec.
“The acquisition of Nukona helps us further address the consumerisation of IT and bring-your-own-device trends by helping organisations protect and isolate corporate data and applications across both corporate owned and personally owned devices.”
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