Since its launch in 2007, Zynga Games has been a pioneer in the social gaming market.

Zynga’s Farmville, Texas Hold ‘Em Poker and Words With Friends apps are played by an estimated 88 million users every month.

The NASDAQ-listed company posted revenues of $907 million in 2018 and there are no signs of its popularity waning. In fact, it continues to acquire some of the biggest names in gaming.

And, while the global pandemic has impacted many industries, it hasn’t slowed Zynga’s ambitious growth strategy. In 2020, it completed the record-breaking acquisitions of software company Peak Oyun Yazilim for $1.8 billion and the $168 million purchase of game developer, Rollic.

It received legal advice from the Firm on both of these deals and has been working with White & Case since 2017.

Silicon Valley Partner Bijal Vakil explains: “The relationship began when their General Counsel Phuong Phillips joined them from Tesla.

“I’d worked with Phuong previously and, when Zynga was looking to acquire Gram Games (a social gaming company based in Turkey and London) in 2017, they hired us to provide legal advice.”

Our support on the Gram Games deal was led jointly by our teams in Silicon Valley and Istanbul.

Istanbul Partner Emre Ozsar, who worked on the deal, says: “It was a fantastic opportunity to get to know the team at Zynga and, since the acquisition, we continued supporting them with corporate governance and day-to-day advice.

“Turkey has a reputation for producing talent and innovation in the social gaming market, so it continues to be an attractive market for Zynga, which is always looking to grow through international acquisitions.

“What’s great is that the Firm is a perfect match for this strategy, because we’re able to provide seamless and integrated support across our global network. Our relationship with Zynga continues to be a great example of our ‘One Firm’ approach in action.”

The $250 million deal for Gram was quickly followed by the acquisition of an 80 per cent share in Finland-based game developer Small Giant for $560 million, a deal led by our offices in Helsinki, New York, Silicon Valley and London.

In 2020, our support of Zynga continued when we advised them on the acquisition of two more Turkish-based companies, Peak and Rollic.

Bijal says: “The deals for Peak and Rollic were both remarkable – the first because of the size of the deal and the second because it was completed entirely during lockdown.”

The Rollic transaction featured a cross-office team including London partners Will Smith and Lindsey Canning and New York Counsel Elodie Gal, while the Peak acquisition was led by Bijal in Silicon Valley, Asli Basgoz in Istanbul and Emmie Jones in London.

Speaking at the time of the deal, Asli commented: “Zynga was thrilled with our work and with the acquisition. I am proud of this deal for many reasons and the whole team did a great job over several months.”

Asli sadly passed away last year and will be greatly missed by everyone who worked with her.

Bijal says: “Asli had an unwavering commitment to leaving a legacy behind and ensuring that our Turkish offices were leaders in the M&A space.

“She played an incredibly important part in building our relationship with Zynga and we miss her greatly as a colleague, leader and as a friend.”

The Firm hopes to build on the great work done by Asli and everyone else on the team with the establishment of a new Zynga Client Team, led by New York Partner Elodie Gal and Business Development Manager Stephanie Dubov.

Bijal says: “Having a dedicated client team will add extra structure and focus to our support of Zynga, so we have an even more organized approach to help us identify opportunities and trends.”

This will be important as Zynga continues to look for acquisition opportunities and, as part of this, we recently introduced them to our team in Japan.

Bijal comments: “Zynga is a hugely important client for the Firm because they are one of the biggest names in the technology sector and are becoming serial acquirers.

“What’s more, their success is showing no signs of slowing, so we hope we can continue to support them across even more offices and broader areas, such as disputes and corporate fundraising.

“These are exciting times and we’re looking forward to continuing to build the relationship over the coming months and years.”