GREE pays $170 million in cash to snap up Japanese publisher Pokelabo

Japanese social gaming platform holder GREE has acquired another company.

It's paid 13.8 billion Yen (around $170 million) in a cash deal to acquire fellow Japanese social publisher Pokelabo.

Not well known outside Japan, but domestically Pokelabo's been making mobile social games since 2008.

Recently, it's been successful with titles such as Sengoku Fantasia and Monster Paradise on iOS and Android, while looking to bring games such as card-battler Mystic Monsters to English-speaking regions.

Aside from games, Sega held a 19 percent stake in the company, and Pokelabo also had a strategic partnership in place with Aeria Games in terms of localisation and global expansion.

Consultant Serkan Toto says Pokelabo generated $7 million in revenue and $2 million in profit during its financial year ending September 2011. The pricetag of the deal suggest this would have increased significantly over the past 12 months, however.

It follows on from GREE's $210 million acquisition of US developer Funzio in May and Nexon's $470 million deal for Japanese developer gloops early in October.

[source: GREE]