DeNA linked to $400m ngmoco acquisition

Japanese gaming giant DeNA is considering an acquisition of iPhone publisher ngmoco for more than $400 million, according the a new report.

Citing chatter from "multiple sources", TechCrunch suggested that Facebook giant Zynga also looked at the possibility of buying ngmoco, but "threw up a little" over the price.

Ngmoco was established by former Electronic Arts Blueprint boss Neil Young and quickly established itself as a leader in games for the iPhone, iPod and iPad, with hits such as Dr Awesome and Rolando. It has bought up a number of developers along the way, including Stumptown Game Machine and Freeverse, and raised over $40 million.

DeNA has recently invested in Astro Ape and Gameview, and is Japan's largest social mobile games company.