Disney purchases social gaming company

Leah Zanolla | Posted: Jul 27, 2010 | Updated: Oct 19, 2014 - 9:25:27 AM

Less than a year after purchasing Marvel Entertainment, the Walt Disney Company has made another move to expand its brand with the purchase of social gaming company Playdom Inc. The acquisition, expected to cost Disney $563.2 million, is seen as an attempt to further expand its presence in the online community. Disney already has a very successful online gaming franchise in Club Penguin. According to an article in Variety, Playdom has reached "more than 42 million gamers each month" via websites such as Facebook.

With the popularity of gaming on social networking sites, this deal could end up being very profitable for Disney. Disney president and CEO Robert Iger stated, "This acquisition furthers our strategy of allocating capital to high-growth businesses that can benefit from our many characters, stories and brands, delivering them in a creatively compelling way to a new generation of fans on the platforms they prefer." As a result of this deal, the Variety article claims Playdom CEO John Pleasants will serve as an executive vice president of the Disney Interactive Media Group.