Take-Two buys Serbian games studio Nordeus for $378 million in cash, stock

Take-Two buys Serbian games studio Nordeus for $378 million in cash, stock

Take-Two Interactive has announced that it has acquired privately-held Serbian mobile games developer Nordeus for up to $378 million. The upfront price of $225 million is comprised of cash and $90 million in newly issued shares of Take-Two common stock.

The Nordeus founding team will receive the stock consideration and continue to run the company, and the total pay-out is dependent on future financial results.

The Belgrade-based company, famous for its popular Top Eleven football management game, will thus Take-Two's roster of mobile-focused developers, which includes Socialpoint (acquired in 2017) and Playdots (bought in 2020).

Nordeus was originally founded back in 2010, and currently has approximately 180 employees.

"Our investment in Nordeus strengthens further Take-Two's mobile game business, is highly complementary to Social Point and Playdots, and broadens our sports portfolio with our first-ever soccer offerings," said Michael Worosz, Executive Vice President and Head of Strategy and Independent Publishing for Take-Two. "Over the last decade, Top Eleven has grown its audience, revenue, and profitability through Nordeus' introduction of live-ops and ongoing gameplay innovations that continue to drive ongoing consumer engagement. It’s also incredibly exciting for Take-Two to expand our operations into a vibrant, beautiful city such as Belgrade; the local science and engineering talent in Serbia is very strong and the quality of the Nordeus team is a testament to that."

“We’re delighted to be joining the Take-Two family," said Branko Miluntinović, co-founder and CEO of Nordeus. "From the start of our conversations with Strauss and the team, we found that we were connected with common values, culture, and a shared vision. From a start-up back in 2010, to what we are today, Nordeus has been built on giving the world more champions through great gaming experiences such as Top Eleven, while also rooting ourselves in the community in Serbia through our continuous efforts in giving back. We are excited to take both our products and our work locally, to the next level with them as we continue our aim of putting Serbia on the global map of gaming."

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