Israeli-founded gaming firm Plarium sold for up to $820M to Sweden’s Modern Times Group
Founded by two sets of brothers, Plarium transitions from Aristocrat, which acquired it for around $500 million in 2017, to a new chapter under MTG.
Israeli-founded gaming company Plarium has been sold for up to $820 million to the Swedish digital entertainment company Modern Times Group. The current owner of Plarium, the Australian company Aristocrat, will receive a fixed payment of $620 million, with an additional $200M based on Plarium’s performance through 2028.
In 2017, Aristocrat acquired the Israeli-founded Plarium from its founders and investors for approximately $500 million. Plarium was founded in 2008 by two pairs of brothers: Avi and Gabi Shalel, and Haim and Ilya Turpiashvili. After the sale, the founders went their separate ways, with only Haim remaining in Plarium for several years. The company specializes in developing strategy games, with a current focus on the mobile gaming sector.
“Aristocrat has incorporated a range of Plarium’s strategic capabilities and mobile content know-how into its core gaming operations over the past seven years, benefitting from digital marketing and UA management capability, enhanced live operations, and scaling and growing our combined social casino business,” said Aristocrat’s CEO and managing director Trevor Croker.
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Plarium currently employs hundreds of staff, with the majority based in Ukraine and a smaller number in Israel. The Israeli team is responsible for part of the company’s development and business operations, while the company's management remains predominantly based in Israel.
