Rovio: We Could Be Worth 'North Of Popcap'Rovio: We Could Be Worth 'North Of Popcap'

While Rovio is not currently seeking a buyout, the company's VP of franchise development Ville Heijari says the Finland studio could be worth somewhere "north of Popcap" and its recent $750 million purchase by EA. In an interview with Eurogamer, Heijari said the Angry Birds maker has been approached many times about potential buyouts, but has preferred to focus on "growing this company and moving into different areas of business beyond games." While Heijari admitted that every company has its price, he said Rovio has "set the bar pretty high from early on," a move that has led to no "really relevant discussion of whether somebody is going to buy us." If it was to get bought, though, Heijari said Rovio's value could be "somewhere, I dunno, maybe north of PopCap." In the interview, Heijari also fought back against the idea that Rovio is overly dependent on a single game, pointing out that the Angry Birds series has evolved through the Seasons and Rio releases and stressing "a lot of different stuff in the pipepine." He also disputed the idea that high market valuations for companies like Popcap and Zynga are the result of a bubble mentality in the mobile/social/casual game spaces. "I dunno, if the price is right for EA, then it must be right!" he laughed. "These kinds of price tags just go to show that the value is also perceived." In March, Rovio chairman Kaj Hed said the company was aiming for a U.S. stock IPO sometime in the next five years.