EA issued a press release earlier today, stating that the publisher is looking to acquire Plants vs. Zombies and Bejeweled developer Popcap for a total of $750 million. The deal will be financed with $650 million in cash, and an additional $100 million in EA shares, to be issued to ‘certain Popcap shareholders.’ The deal is expected to be finalized next month.
According to comments by both EA and PopCap, EA will aim to bring the PopCap games to a wider audience, and additional platforms: EA CEO John Riccitiello stated that “EA and PopCap are a compelling combination. PopCap’s great studio talent and powerful IP add to EA’s momentum and accelerate our drive towards a $1 billion digital business. EA’s global studio and publishing network will help PopCap rapidly expand their business to more digital devices, more countries, and more channels.” David Roberts, the CEO of PopCap, added that they “picked EA because they have recast their culture around making great digital games. By working with EA, we’ll scale our games and services to deliver more social, mobile, casual fun to an even bigger, global audience.”