Mobile Gaming Unicorn Scopely Adds $200 Million in Series D Funding
Ben Bergman is the newsroom's senior finance reporter. Previously he was a senior business reporter and host at KPCC, a senior producer at Gimlet Media, a producer at NPR's Morning Edition, and produced two investigative documentaries for KCET. He has been a frequent on-air contributor to business coverage on NPR and Marketplace and has written for The New York Times and Columbia Journalism Review. Ben was a 2017-2018 Knight-Bagehot Fellow in Economic and Business Journalism at Columbia Business School. In his free time, he enjoys skiing, playing poker, and cheering on The Seattle Seahawks.
Scopely, the Culver City-based mobile games unicorn, confirmed Wednesday it has raised an additional $200 million in Series D funding, doubling the total round to $400M. The capital comes from Advance, a private family-owned business that invests in a broad range of media and technology companies and The Chernin Group, a consumer-focused investment firm.
"The FoxNext Games acquisition earlier this year further reinforced our commitment to M&A, and the opportunity to partner with these longtime media experts was a welcome addition to further support our strategy, Javier Ferreira, Scopely co-CEO, said in a statement. "With these key partners, we will be able to continue to pursue an even larger and more diverse slate of immersive, dynamic game experiences than we have today. In a time where interactive, social connection and entertainment is more important than ever, we remain committed to delivering rewarding games for all players to enjoy."
The additional financing has been in the works for several months – long before the novel coronavirus was a major concern – and was completed earlier this year. Regulators approved the deal this week.
As a maker of mobile games, Scopely would seem to be well-positioned for the social distancing era, but the company has stopped short of making any such pronouncements, preferring to go with a more restrained tone.
"While under normal circumstances we would celebrate this milestone broadly, our thoughts are focused on the wellbeing of our employees, their families, our players and all of our communities," Ferreira and co-CEO Walter Driver wrote.
An Advance representative will join Scopely's Board of Directors while a TCG representative will now serve as a Board Observer. UBS Investment Bank served as exclusive financial advisor to Advance and Paul Hastings LLP served as its legal advisor.
Founded in 2011, Scopely's mobile game franchise now includes Scrabble® GO, MARVEL Strike Force, Star Trek™ Fleet Command, Looney Tunes™ World of Mayhem, WWE Champions, The Walking Dead: Road To Survival™, YAHTZEE® With Buddies and Wheel of Fortune®: Free Play.
Scopely is currently valued at $1.7 billion, according to Pitchbook data, and has 800 employees.
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Ben Bergman is the newsroom's senior finance reporter. Previously he was a senior business reporter and host at KPCC, a senior producer at Gimlet Media, a producer at NPR's Morning Edition, and produced two investigative documentaries for KCET. He has been a frequent on-air contributor to business coverage on NPR and Marketplace and has written for The New York Times and Columbia Journalism Review. Ben was a 2017-2018 Knight-Bagehot Fellow in Economic and Business Journalism at Columbia Business School. In his free time, he enjoys skiing, playing poker, and cheering on The Seattle Seahawks.
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