Jamdat Shareholders Approve EA Deal

Mobile game publisher Jamdat Mobile has announced that its stockholders have approved the company's acquisition by Electronic Arts at a special meeting held on Friday, February 10, 2006 in Santa Monica, CA. Stockholders will receive $27.00 in cash for each Jamdat share they own following the closing of the transaction, which came after the December announcement of the proposed acquisition for a value of $680 million. At the time, senior executives including Jamdat CEO Mitch Lasky and EA CEO Larry Probst commented on the acquisition, with Probst responding to a question about why EA didn't try to grow its mobile division further on its own by commenting: "Obviously, this is a build or buy decision... we clearly are impressed with the job that Jamdat has done, especially in the North American market." Probst continued, regarding the mobile market: "We could build [our mobile business] over time, but over that same period of time, Jamdat is not going to stand still and wait for us to catch up", also suggesting that, though Jamdat is the perceived mobile gaming leader in the U.S., the combined company wants to increase its presence rapidly in both Europe and in Asia, and is working out plans for accelerated growth in territories outside North America, particularly in the Japanese 3D mobile gaming market. Jamdat and EA previously announced that the waiting period for U.S. antitrust review under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 was terminated effective January 3, 2006. All other regulatory approvals required for the acquisition have been received. The companies expect the acquisition to close in February 2006.