Japanese gaming giant, Sega, to acquire Rovio for $775M. 2 other stories and a trivia

This line-up of stories will help you discover the latest happenings around the tech world, today

1. Japanese gaming giant, Sega, to acquire Rovio for $775M

Japanese gaming giant, Sega, has announced its plans to acquire Angry Birds-maker, Rovio, in a deal worth €706 million ($775 million) in cash.

Haruki Satomi, president, and group CEO of Sega’s parent company Sega Sammy Holdings confirmed the acquisition in a press release on Monday.

Ripples Nigeria gathered that Sega’s offer is 63.1% higher than Rovio’s closing price on January 19, the last trading day before news of a prospective acquisition first broke, and 19% higher than Rovio’s actual closing price on Friday, April 14.

Rovio, which was founded in 2003, became one of the biggest success stories in the European technology field.

The Finish company went public in 2017 and was valued at $1 billion when it debuted on the Nasdaq Helsinki.

“I am confident that, through a combination of both companies’ brands, characters, fanbase, as well as corporate culture and functionality, there will be significant synergies created going forward,” disclosed Satomi.

Satomi added that this deal would effectively enable Sega to increase its mobile gaming presence while also enabling Rovio to go a different path.

Tech Trivia: A mobile-friendly website must function well on what type of device?
A. Laptop
B. Tablet
C. Smartphone
D. Smartwatch
Answer: see end of post

2. London-based Cassava Technologies commits $250M to boost ICT in South Africa

Cassava Technologies through its business units – Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Africa Data Centres, and Distributed Power Africa has committed to invest R4.5 billion ($250 million) in South Africa.

Read also:Tech-backed HR startup, Xobin, unveils AI feature to aid talent assessment

Hardy Pemhiwa, President & Group CEO of Cassava Technologies, confirmed the investment in a statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Monday.

The renewable energy, cloud & cyber security, data centers, and broadband connection business segments of the organization are among those that Cassava hopes to continue introducing to South Africa with this investment according to Pemhiwa.

Cassava Technologies with eight subsidiaries including Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Liquid Dataport, Liquid C2, Africa Data Centres, Distributed Power Africa, Sasai Fintech, Telrad, and Vaya Technologies is headquartered in London and with operations in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, the USA, and Latin America.

“The country’s unique combination of highly developed first-world economic infrastructure and a stable macro-economic environment affords businesses like ours a conducive investment environment in which we can partner with government to drive economic development and create jobs,” stated Pemhiwa.

Ripples Nigeria earlier reported that Cassava Technologies announced closing a $50 million investment from a specialist venture capital firm, C5 Capital with plans to raise additional growth capital whilst diversifying its investor base.

3. Scan.com secures $12M in Series A round of funding to expand infrastructure

A London-based healthtech Scan.com has secured $12 million in a Series A round of funding to expand infrastructure.

Scan.com CEO Charlie Bullock confirmed the funding in a statement on Monday.

The medical imaging startup claims it connects patients with scanning centers, covering MRI, ultrasound, CT, and X-ray.

According to the statement, Scan.com’s Series A round was co-led by Oxford Capital, Aviva Ventures, YZR Capital, Triple Point Ventures, and Simplyhealth Ventures, with participation from Forefront Venture Partners.

The startup said it would use the fund to continue its U.S. expansion and also extend its service offering to include the likes of DEXA scans, echocardiograms, etc.

“Our clinical team offers consultations and guidance to all patients once they’ve booked, which is a core part of the service we offer,” Bullock stated.

Scan.com was founded some five years ago by clinicians Khalid Latief and Jasper Nissim.

Trivia Answer: Smartphone

“Mobile-friendly” refers to websites that are easy to use on smartphones. In this case, “mobile” is used synonymously with “smartphone,” but not necessarily tablet.

By Kayode Hamsat

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now