GP Bullhound's Dafferner expects a couple of $100+ million mobile game M&A deals

With mobile gaming rising quickly to account for around 10 percent of the global games market, the sector is being taken much more seriously by the investment community.

One outfit keen to tap into the opportunity is GP Bullhound, a technology-focused investment bank with offices in London, Stockholm, and San Francisco.

It's released a report on the sector.

Entitled Mobile Games Revisited: Level 2 Unlocked, it covers the industry, looking at its transition to smartphones and app stores, as well as detailing recent acquisitions and investments.

"Mobile social is the hottest area right now, with free-to-play/freemium as the monetisation methodology," explains GP Bullhound partner Alec Dafferner, also pointing to the mobile MMOG area as another area to watch.

In terms of the activity GP Bullhound gets involved in, it predicts plenty of M&A.

"We expect to see lots of smaller studios getting acquired in the sub $100 million level," Dafferner says.

"There will also likely be 1 to 2 larger deals in the $100 - 500 million range."

The research report will be made available on the GP Bullhound website soon.