The Finland-based game company, Rovio, that owns the popular Angry Birds mobile game is acquiring 100% shares of Turkish hyper-casual game studio Ruby Games, the company announced Thursday.

As part of the agreement, Rovio will purchase the Izmir-based games studio periodically. In the first phase, Rovio will buy 20% of the shares of Ruby Games for $10 million in cash. The first tranche of the acquisition is scheduled to be completed either by the end of the third quarter or the beginning of the last quarter of 2021.

In the second phase expected to take place in October 2022, Rovio will acquire 50% of Ruby Games' shares, but not exceeding $80 million, taking into account financial performance as measured by revenue and EBITDA for the 12-month period prior to October 2022. Some 60% of the payment will be in cash while the rest will be in Rovio shares.

The remaining 30% of Ruby Games' shares will be purchased over the next five years with at least 50% cash, the remainder as cash or shares, with a valuation based on Ruby Games' EBITDA. The amount payable will not exceed the total EBITDA generated by Ruby Games in the said period.

Under the terms of the agreement, Ruby Games will become a Rovio subsidiary upon completion of the first tranche of the purchase. Ruby will continue to be led by founder and CEO Mert Can Kurum. Additionally, the company will maintain its headquarters in the Turkish western province of Izmir.

Rovio CEO Alex Pelletier-Normand, whose views were included in the company statement, said with the acquisition of hyper-casual game studio Ruby Games: "We are taking an important step forward in our growth strategy. By entering the rapidly growing hyper-casual market we are enriching our audience base and offering our players a more diverse portfolio of titles."

‘’Ruby Games has launched several successful games and their hit-ratio is impressive. Expanding Rovio’s family with the talented and highly-agile developers of Ruby Games is exciting! Welcome to the flock!" he said.

For his part, Ruby Games CEO Kurum said "becoming part of a company that has created one of the most beloved mobile gaming brands in the world, Angry Birds, is exciting and we are very proud of joining Rovio."

"This acquisition opens up a new chapter for us, and Rovio’s long history and expertise in free-to-play games will help us to reach higher levels. We look forward to working together with Rovio’s other studios, and also to share our knowledge and expertise," Kurum said.

Ruby Games is a company with a portfolio of popular hyper-casual games that have been downloaded more than 600 million times. It is also the creator of the hit game Hunter Assassin, which on its own was the sixth most downloaded game in the world in 2020.

Rovio has a strong growth strategy, and part of that growth will come through mergers and acquisitions, such as this one according to the company statement.

Another Turkish gaming company, Istanbul-based Peak was acquired by gaming giant Zynga last year for $1.8 billion. U.S. giant then bought another Istanbul-based hyper-casual game maker Rollic.