American mobile video games developer Scopely Incorporated has reportedly announced the signing of an agreement with Sony Pictures Entertainment Incorporated that is to see it purchase social casino counterpart GSN Games Incorporated.

According to a source, the cash-and-stock arrangement inked by the Los Angeles-headquartered firm is worth approximately $1 billion and comes some 21 months after it paid The Walt Disney Company in the region of $250 million so as to buy that entertainment giant’s growing FoxNext Games subsidiary, which released the mobile-friendly Marvel Strike Force turn-based role-playing title a little over three years ago.

Swelling selection:

Scopely Incorporated has reportedly already developed a plethora of Android and iOS-enabled titles including Star Trek: Fleet Command, The Walking Dead: Road to Survival and Wheel of Fortune: Free Play while GSN Games Incorporated is behind such on-the-go entertainment as Bingo Bash and Solitaire TriPeaks. The amalgamation will purportedly give Sony Pictures Entertainment Incorporated a minority stake in the Californian company and also permit both firms to increase the size of their already bulging mobile-friendly games portfolios.

Developer delight:

Mark Feldman serves as the Chief Executive Officer for GSN Games Incorporated and reportedly expressed pride at having been able to grow his studio to the point where it became the target of the Scopely Incorporated takeover. Sony Pictures Entertainment Incorporated is itself a subsidiary of American film, television and music giant Sony Entertainment Incorporated, which is majority-owned by New York and Tokyo-listed conglomerate Sony Group Corporation.

Feldman reportedly declared…

“Over the past four years and in the teeth of a global pandemic, GSN Games Incorporated has undertaken huge technical and product improvements to deliver on our commitment to providing our players with phenomenal game experiences. I am delighted that GSN Games Incorporated will now be part of Scopely Incorporated’s dynamic global mobile games business.”

Amplifying assessment:

For his part and Ravi Ahuja from Sony Pictures Entertainment Incorporated reportedly disclosed that GSN Games Incorporated began premiering mobile-friendly games in 2007 as an offshoot of its Game Show Network basic cable television enterprise. The just-agreed arrangement furthermore purportedly comes at a time when Scopely Incorporated has seen its own valuation increase by over 63% year-on-year to currently stand somewhere around $5.4 billion.

Reportedly read a statement from Ahuja…

“In meeting with the team from Scopely Incorporated, we knew we found the right organization to support and accelerate the business. We are confident it will take GSN Games Incorporated to new heights and we are pleased to be a minority shareholder in Scopely Incorporated as a result of this transaction.”