Miniclip acquires leading UK studio, Supersonic Software Ltd and its subsidiary AppyNation Ltd

Miniclip, a world leader of market-defining mobile game titles, announced today the acquisition of leading UK studio, Supersonic Software Ltd and its subsidiary AppyNation Ltd. CVCapital served as exclusive financial advisor to Supersonic in the transaction.

Founded in 1988 by Pete Williamson and Andy Williamson, Supersonic is the studio behind the highly successful Puzzle Page and Picture Cross, as well as enduring titles World’s Biggest Crossword and One Clue Crossword. The acquisition of Supersonic, their fourth UK studio, provides the perfect opportunity for Miniclip to move into the extremely popular puzzle genre, so taking another step in its quest to unleash the gamer in everyone.

Pete Williamson, CEO of Supersonic said, “Having been independent for so long, joining a new partner is a very big deal for us. We’ve always admired Miniclip and having had the opportunity to get to know them over a period of several years we’re really confident that we’ve found the perfect partner for us. We’re excited to start working with Miniclip properly, tapping into their expertise and resources to take our company to the next level.” This sentiment was shared by Andy Williamson, who added, “We're looking forward immensely to becoming part of the Miniclip family. The expertise Miniclip can bring to our business will be invaluable - it will help us grow more quickly than we ever could as an independent studio. We're confident Miniclip will respect our culture and indeed enhance it. It's a very exciting step and one we're very happy to take.”

Commenting on the deal, Rob Small Founder and President of Miniclip, said, “We have followed the journey of Pete and Andy and the team at Supersonic with great interest and are delighted to both welcome them to Miniclip and to support their growth within the puzzle category. This genre as the natural companion to a number of others in which we operate and we see this as a great opportunity to widen our audience further.”

Pete Williamson, CEO of Supersonic further remarked on the cooperation with CVCapital, “Our experience of working with CVCapital was excellent. Jim and Eric took time to get to know us and our business, were available and diligent at all stages of the deal negotiations and played a vital part in the process of negotiating and concluding a successful deal for us.”

Jim Ying, Managing Director of CVCapital commented on the deal, “For over 20 years, Pete, Andy, and the team at Supersonic have bootstrapped and navigated the company through the evolution of gaming from boxed console games to mobile free-to-play games, in the process, becoming one of the market leaders in the highly competitive puzzle genre. I’m glad we were able to play a role in helping them land at Miniclip, whose expertise and resources will further accelerate their growth.”

About Supersonic Software Ltd:

Supersonic Software Ltd. was founded in 1988 and for many years worked as a console game developer. The company pivoted to specialise in free-to-play mobile games around 10 years ago. Supersonic was a founding member and investor in the publisher AppyNation and later acquired the remaining shares in the company, whereupon AppyNation became a wholly owned subsidiary. The group specialises in developing and publishing puzzle games and running these as ‘forever’ franchises. The portfolio includes ‘Puzzle Page’, ‘Picture Cross’, ‘World’s Biggest Crossword’ and ‘One Clue Crossword’.

About Miniclip:

Miniclip is a global leader in digital games with a mission of ‘unleashing the gamer in everyone’. The Company develops, publishes and distributes highly engaging games to an audience of over 250 million monthly active users across mobile, social and online platforms.

Founded in 2001, the Company has successfully grown a huge global audience in over 195 countries and across six continents. Miniclip has a unique understanding of the digital games space and has developed a strong portfolio of over 60 high-quality mobile games, extensive worldwide distribution, and an internationally recognised brand name. To date, Miniclip franchises including 8 Ball Pool?, Golf Battle?, Football Strike? and Agar.io? have generated more than 2 billion downloads. Miniclip has more than 50 million daily active players reaching people across the world in the pursuit of ‘unleashing the gamer in everyone’.

In February 2015, Miniclip was excited to receive a large majority investment from Tencent, one of the world’s largest technology companies and the world’s largest games publisher. This new chapter in Miniclip’s history strengthens the Company’s position, with Tencent recognising its achievements to date and future potential.

In the past two years, as part of their ambitious growth plans, Miniclip have been delighted to welcome the teams from Playsport (famous for Motorsport Manager), Yakuto (creators of Darts of Fury), Masomo (home of Head Ball 2), Ilyon (designers of Bubble Shooter), Eight Pixels Square (Sniper Strike) now operating as Miniclip Derby, Gamebasics (creators of OSM Online Soccer Manager), and most recently Green Horse Games (home of Football Rivals) to the Miniclip Group.