Glu Mobile acquires QuizUp
Glu Mobile, the developers of celebrity-themed games like Kim Kardashian: Hollywood and Nicki Minaj: The Empire, acquired Plain Vanilla Corp., the creators of the extremely popular quiz app QuizUp, for $7.5 million. According to sources, the deal included forgiven debt. However, the deal, which is a steal for Glu Mobile, is quite disappointing for investors in QuizUp.
Take care of "my baby"
Plain Vanilla Corp. CEO Thor Fredriksson commented on Glu Mobile's acquisition, saying, "I hope that Glu will take good care of my baby."
What is QuizUp and why is it so popular?
QuizUp is an app which is in part social media, in part a mobile game which allows users to test their trivia skills. Quizzes are categorized into different topics on QuizUp, and users can select a subject of their choice. Users can, furthermore, choose to play against friends or pick a random match which matches the user against equally talented and knowledgeable players.
Questions in QuizUp
According to 2014 data, QuizUp, the free-to-play quiz game, had over 220,000 questions spread across different general knowledge categories.
Why is the deal disappointing for QuizUp investors?
Plain Vanilla Corp., the Iceland-based start-up which founded QuizUp, raised a hefty $22 million in its Series B funding led by Tencent and Sequoia Capital in 2013. Altogether, according to CrunchBase, Plain Vanilla Corp. raised around $40 million from outside funding, and attracted over 10 million users. So, considering the amount of investment in QuizUp, $7.5 million seems a tad too little.
