MTG acquires Bloons dev Ninja Kiwi for $141.8 million

Ninja Kiwi, the studio behind the tower defense series Bloons and dozens of other titles, has been acquired by MTG for SEK 1.22 billion, or roughly $141.8 million in cash and shares. The deal also has room for an additional SEK 406 million, or $47.2 million, in payments if certain targets over the next three years.

The studio, first founded back in 2006, is of course best known for its yet-ongoing Bloons series, the first of which released as a Flash game back in 2007. Fast forward to 2021, and Ninja Kiwi now boasts 25 games in its portfolio and gross revenue of SEK 337 million ($39.2 million) for last year.

“Ninja Kiwi has popularized the entire genre of tower defense games, and continues to pioneer it. Its evergreen Bloons IP and gaming platform has introduced millions to the tower defense genre, combining puzzle and strategy elements in games developed mainly for mobile platforms,” reads a statement from MTG CEO Maria Redin.

”The strong organic traffic to Ninja Kiwi’s portfolio of games is hugely impressive, as is the company’s successful combination of paid and in-app purchase models in its pricing structure – both are testament to the quality of the titles that Ninja Kiwi has created," she continues. "We’re very pleased that Ninja Kiwi is joining MTG and our growing gaming vertical, further broadening our offering through the introduction of a new genre.”

MTG is of course no stranger to acquisitions in the video game space, but the company noticeably slowed down its pace following the 2017 acquisition of Kongregate. This Ninja Kiwi deal is notably only the second acquisition MTG itself has made since (following after its $257 million purchase of the UK mobile dev Hutch Games in December) though it has continued to invest in similar companies over the years.