Ourpalm acquires Animoca stock for $2.3 million

Animoca Brands has taken $2.3 million in investment from the Chinese mobile publisher Ourpalm, representing an 11.11 per cent stake in the company.

The shares were sold at 23.5 per cent above the closing price on June 24, 2015. Ourpalm will have the option to deepen its investment by a further $5 million, but only when Animoca's average share value has reached 150 per cent of the subscription price in this deal. Once that threshold has been reached over a sustained five-day period, Ourpalm will have 30 days to exercise the option.

The two companies had a pre-existing business relationship, in the form of a distribution agreement for Animoca's Doraemon Gadget Rush in China. However, that deal was only signed at the end of May, only a month before the the share acquisition was put to the Animoca board. Ourpalm is highly active in this respect, listing seven companies among its "recent" investments and acquisitions.

Animoca, which is based in Hong Kong, has built its strategy around licensed games, with a portfolio that spans popular IP like Garfield, Ben 10 and Astro Boy.

Along with the additional funds, the closer relationship with Ourpalm is part of a plan to grow its market share in China. Steven Hu, co-CEO of Ourpalm, will join the Animoca board as a non-executive director, effective immediately.

"[Animoca] has demonstrated a strong record of licensing and monetising well-known brand names and developing highly successful mobile games," Hu said in a statement. "The Animoca Brands game portfolio strategy has proven to be a successful formula, and creates a platform for further opportunity and growth within the mobile gaming market."

Ourpalm employs more than 2,000 people worldwide, with a publishing network that stretches beyond China and into SE Asia, the US and Europe.