Supercell, the makers of 'Clash of Clans' have acquired majority stake in Space Ape game studio

Finnish mobile game maker Supercell has acquired a majority stake in London-based game studio Space Ape, the British company said on its website. Space Ape, founded in 2012, makes mobile games Samurai Siege, Rival Kingdoms and Transformers: Earth Wars, published by toymaker Hasbro Inc's digital unit.Space Ape said Supercell had acquired 62 percent of its shares in a deal valuing its total equity at $90 million. The deal allows Space Ape to continue to operate as an independent company - similar to the way Supercell operates with its owner Tencent Holdings Ltd."Supercell works like we work: in small, collaborative teams... We are masters of our own destiny and have the operational independence to run our company as we see fit," Chief Executive John Earner said.Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen confirmed the deal on its Twitter account. Supercell previously acquired Finnish games start-ups Frogmind and Shipyard Games. Supercell's hit game Clash of Clans, a war strategy game, has remained on the list of top-earning applications since its launch in 2012.Reuters