Report: Talking Tom dev Outfit7 acquired by Chinese chemical firm

Multiple sources gathered by Pocket Gamer have indicated that the British-based developer behind the chatty mobile games Talking Tom and My Talking Hank has been purchased by a Chinese chemical firm for €1 billion, or roughly $1.07 billion.

According to the Slovenia-based news site Jutarnji List, the billion-euro deal went down last December with Zhejiang Jinke Entertainment Culture picking up shares in Outfit7 for $100 a pop. Previously, Samo and Iza Login held a majority 60% share in the company they co-founded together in 2009.

Recently, Talking Tom was revealed by an App Annie report as the 6th most downloaded mobile game across both iOS and Android storefronts in 2016 though neither Outfit7 nor its games were top-ten revenue earners last year.

The company behind the purchase was known as Zhejiang Jinke Peroxides until last summer when its name was changed to Zhejiang Jinke Entertainment Culture to reflect more recent aspirations in the mobile games and entertainment industry.

This acquisition by Zhejiang Jinke is just the latest in a trend of investments by Chinese companies in both mobile gaming and the video game industry at large, though the Outfit7 deal is certainly the most expensive acquisition by a Chinese company in recent memory. In 2015, Runescape creator Jagex was picked up by Chinese mining firm Shandong Hongda for $300 million. The year before that a majority stake in Warframe developer Digital Extremes was similarly acquired by Chinese meat supplier Sumpo Food.