Digital River Buys Fatfoogoo For $10 Million

E-commerce company Digital River announced its acquisition of Fatfoogoo, an in-game and online commerce service provider specializing in virtual goods, with a cash transaction of approximately $10 million. Founded in 2006 and based in Vienna, Austria (with offices in the UK and U.S.), Fatfoogoo offers its clients the ability to implement publisher-to-player and player-to-player transactions in online games and virtual worlds through white label turnkey solutions or individually configured modules. Minneapolis-headquartered Digital River offers a platform for online businesses, including software and game publishers, to handle a range of tasks like site development and hosting, order management, fraud management, export controls, tax management, physical and digital product fulfillment, multi-lingual customer service, advanced reporting and strategic marketing services. The two companies will integrate their solutions to provide game publishers with an in-store platform and turn-key technology for operating an in-game marketplace. They plan to offer support for in-game store global payments, inventory management, virtual goods and currencies, electronic wallets, peer-to-peer marketplaces, and auction capabilities. Digital River's Fatfoogoo business unit will continue working out of Vienna and will deliver its tech both as an integrated part of its parent company's e-commerce offerings for games and as a standalone solution. As part of the purchase, Fatfoogoo's shareholders have an "earn-out opportunity" based on the unit hitting certain performance targets. "The sale of virtual goods through micro transactions continues to grow in popularity with consumers and is establishing new revenue models for the games industry," says Digital River CEO Joel Ronning. "With the addition of Fatfoogoo, we've strengthened our commitment to the gaming marketplace." "We believe the combination of our in-game and in-store commerce solution along with our subscription management capabilities will be unmatched in the industry. This partnership continues our promise to provide existing and future clients with the leading e-commerce technology and expertise they expect from Digital River."