Fremantle offloads Canadian mobile game outfit Ludia to Jam City for $165m

RTL Group-owned Fremantle has sold its Montreal-based mobile video game company Ludia to US mobile entertainment company Jam City for €139m (US$165m).

Thomas Rabe

Production and distribution powerhouse Fremantle acquired a 29% stake in the Canadian company in 2009 before increasing its shareholding to 100% between 2010 and 2014. According to Fremantle, Ludia’s revenue has doubled since 2013.

Ludia’s portfolio of original games includes Jurassic World: The Game, Jurassic World Alive, DreamWorks Dragons: Titan Uprising, Warriors of Waterdeep, Lovelink, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Legends and DreamWorks Dragons: Rise of Berk.

California-based Jam City is led by CEO and co-founder Chris DeWolfe, who is the co-founder and former CEO of MySpace, and chief operating officer Josh Yguado, a former 20th Century Fox executive. The company is behind gaming franchises such as Cookie Jam and Panda Pop.

In a statement, RTL Group said the sale of Ludia is part of its strategy of “continuously reviewing [its] portfolio and growing its European digital businesses in the areas of streaming and advertising technology, alongside the group’s global content business, Fremantle.”

Last month, RTL Group said it plans to accelerate Fremantle’s growth over the next four years, setting a goal of doubling its revenue to €3bn by 2025 through a mix of organic and acquisitive growth. Fremantle, which has operations in more than 25 countries, saw its revenues take a hit during the pandemic, with annual revenue dipping to €1.5bn in 2020 from €1.8bn in 2019.

In August, RTL Group CEO Thomas Rabe said the German media giant will continue to make significant investments in Fremantle across scripted, unscripted, factual and documentaries.