Font size:  

JEFFERIES BROADVIEW ADVISES HANDS-ON MOBILE KOREA

EA to Acquire Assets of Hands-On Mobile Korea ; Deal Will Strengthen the Presence of EA Mobile in Asia and Expand its Development and Publishing Teams as the Global Mobile Leader

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. & SEOUL, Korea - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) today announced that it had agreed to acquire the assets of Hands-On Mobile Korea, a leading Korean mobile developer and publisher, best known for its mobile role-playing game, Heroes Lore. Upon completion of the acquisition, the former Hands-On Mobile Korea team will become EA Mobile Korea and will play a strategic role in the EA Mobile. Asia development and publishing growth plans. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed by the end of this fiscal quarter. Hands-On Mobile Korea is a subsidiary of parent company Hands-On MobileTM, based in the United States.

"This acquisition is a major milestone in growing our mobile business in Asia," said Barry Cottle, Senior Vice President and General Manager EA Mobile. "Hands- On Mobile Korea brings us a great leadership team, proven studio talent, and outstanding carrier and OEM handset manufacturer relationships."

"We are excited about joining EA Mobile and its mission to bring to market some of the world's most innovative, cutting-edge and commercially proven mobile games and applications," said Gilbert Kim, CEO of Hands-On Mobile Korea, who will become head of EA Mobile, Korea Division. "Korea is one of the most ubiquitous entertainment markets in the world, and we look forward to continually pushing the edge with our partners here to enrich the mobile user experience across all aspects of daily life."

Following completion of the acquisition, Hands-On Mobile Korea will continue to be managed by Gilbert Kim as head of the EA Mobile, Korea division. The studio will remain in Korea with growth planned for both the development and publishing teams, and will work within the management structure of the EA Mobile Asia Publishing organization.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. EA does not expect the acquisition to impact the company's fiscal year 2009 financial guidance.

About Hands-On Mobile Inc.

Hands-On Mobile, Inc. is the world's leading developer of connected games and applications. Established in 2001, with operations on four continents, Hands-On Mobile develops and distributes mobile content to more than 200 of the world's leading operators in 60 countries. Hands-On Mobile provides operators and their customers with the world's best entertainment brands and content. The company's diverse catalogue includes games, applications and personalization suites from top brands such as Activision, Billboard, CBS, LEGO, Marvel, NBA, NBC Universal, Paramount Pictures, and World Poker Tour. The Hands-On Mobile Developer Network (HDN) brings mobile development to the masses enabling developers to create and distribute mobile applications through Hands-On Mobile's core platform and ecosystem. Hands-On Mobile is a U.S. corporation with headquarters in San Francisco and offices in San Diego, California; London and Manchester, England; Krakow, Poland; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Shanghai and Beijing, China; and Seoul, Korea. For more information about Hands-On Mobile please visit www.HandsOn.com.

Hands-On Mobile is a trademark of Hands-On Mobile, Inc.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS., EA., EA SPORTS FreestyleTM and POGOTM. In fiscal 2008, EA posted GAAP net revenue of USD 3.67 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS Freestyle and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries

Site Map       Customer Notices and Policies       Contact Us
© 2008 Jefferies & Company, Inc.       Member, SIPC