Japanese gaming company DeNA is considering an acquisition of San Francisco-based ngmoco, we’ve heard from multiple sources. The price, says one source, is north of $400 million, although that probably includes a very large earnout. ngmoco specializes in iPhone/iPad/iPod social games.
It has been called “Zynga for iPhone” and actually shares a board member with Zynga – Kleiner Perkins partner and former Electronic Arts executive Bing Gordon. One source says Zynga looked at ngmoco but “threw up a little” over the price and passed. Zynga did not respond to a request for comment, however.
ngmoco has been on a tear lately. They recently raised a venture round from Google Ventures and have become serious about developing for the Android platform. The company has raised more than $40 million to date.
DeNA hasn’t been shy about acquisitions recently. They acquired Mountain View, Calif.-based mobile social gaming studio, Gameview, in September. And later last month they invested in social game studio Astro Ape.
ngmoco has not responded to an email inquiry about the transaction.
ngmoco (“Next Generation MObile COmpany”) is creating and producing games for the iPhone. CEO Neil Young is a former executive from Electronic Arts, where he oversaw the development of several hit titles. Another EA vet and partner at Kleiner Perkins, Bing Gordon, sits on the board. Kleiner is an investor through its iFund.
DeNA Co., Ltd. (pronounced “D-N-A”) provides social game platform, social games, e-commerce and other Web services for mobile devices and PCs. DeNA’s current flagship business is its mobile social games platform Mobage (pronounced “moh-bah-geh”), which offers first-, second- and third-party games on multiple localized player networks worldwide.
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