Zynga is in talks to acquire OMGPOP, the maker of massive hit Draw Something, according to a source with direct knowledge of the discussions. Talks are still in an earlier stage and it's my understanding that there may be other foreign buyers that are still pursuing the company.
When asked for comment, Zynga said it does not comment on rumor or speculation. Given that OMGPOP has raised around $17 million to date, I'd expect the price for this deal to be in the $150 to $250 million range. In e-mails over the weekend, OMGPOP chief executive Dan Porter also didn't answer questions about interest from Japanese buyers.
If it did happen, it would be Zynga's biggest publicly disclosed acquisition to date. Zynga's track record is mostly in acquiring small teams for a talent-price range of $5 to $15 million. But it did make a fantastic deal in late 2010 to buy Words With Friends-maker Newtoy for a $53.3 million in cash and stock -- a price that looks positively low in retrospect. After buying Newtoy, Zynga was able to double the Words With Friends' daily active users in 120 days. By the time it had filed for a public offering, Zynga had grown its mobile footprint by tenfold.
Depending on the price, an OMGPOP acquisition could be a big win for Zynga because it falls right in line with the company's "With Friends" brand. Over the past year, the company has launched Scramble With Friends and Hanging With Friends, among other titles. But Draw Something has been such an unexpected hit that it's taking some of the wind out of Zynga's momentum on mobile platforms. OMGPOP's title just became the largest game on Facebook by daily users last week.
This story is developing….
This story originally appeared in TechCrunch.
