Science & Technology
Science and Technology
Science and Technology
Tue, February 1, 2011
Quepasa to Acquire Brazilian Social Game Development Studio
WEST PALM BEACH, FL--(Marketwire - February 1, 2011) - [ Quepasa Corporation ](
Founded in 2006 as a developer of multiplatform console, Web and mobile games, TechFront began developing social games for the Orkut platform in 2010 in partnership with various international publishers, including U.S.-based eGames.
"The addition of TechFront's talented team provides Quepasa with the means to offer and monetize culturally relevant social games to our Quepasa.com member base and other audience networks, like Orkut and Facebook, and eventually to mobile users across Latin America," said John C. Abbott, CEO of Quepasa.
The agreement to acquire XtFt follows Quepasa's recently announced partnership with eGames to publish and promote eGames' titles on Quepasa.com as well as on other third-party social media platforms. The initial five eGames titles to be published and distributed by Quepasa were all developed by TechFront for eGames.
The acquisition of XtFt will allow its team of 41 full-time game developers to focus on developing culturally relevant social gaming IP for the Quepasa platform and other social networks with audiences in Latin America. The acquisition will also better position Quepasa to capitalize, as both a publisher of social games and a platform for playing social games, on the rapid growth and monetization of social games throughout Latin America.
"As both a publisher of social games and social network, Quepasa will command a greater proportion of the revenues associated with social games on its own platform, while also participating in additional revenues generated on alternative social networks," noted Abbott.
Quepasa will acquire XtFt for net consideration of approximately $4 million, comprised of $3.7 million in shares of Quepasa common stock (as determined by Quepasa's average closing price over a 10-day period) and a $300,000 brokerage fee. XtFt's key partners have also been offered option-based retention packages. The transaction will close upon the delivery of all outstanding items outlined in the agreement.
Rafael da Costa, a XtFT partner and TechFront's founder and president, commented: "Joining forces with Quepasa will afford us immediate access to one of the largest and fastest growing audiences in Latin America in addition to innovative social marketing tools, such as Quepasa's DSM (Distributed Social Media), to help promote our titles. We expect to gain valuable insights into Quepasa users' receptivity to our game features and functionality ahead of publishing our titles onto other well-trafficked sites across the region."
Quepasa recently reported that its membership base increased 255% in 2010 to total more than 27.2 million registered users. The site added 2.2 million users and generated 16.4 million unique visits in December 2010, compared to 1.2 million new users and 7.1 million unique visits in December 2009. Page views increased to 184 million page views in December 2010 from 175 million in the previous month.
About XtFt Games and TechFront Studios
XtFt Games is the owner of substantially all of the assets of TechFront Desenvolvimento de Software S/S Ltda (TechFront). TechFront is Brazil's largest game development studio for all modern game platforms, with a focus on fun, high-quality, easy-to-play titles. The company's 40+ development team brings experience not only in Flash, 3D engines, and 3D art, but also leverages internal tools and commercially licensed engines like Infernal and Gamebryo to support simultaneous multiplatform releases. For more information, visit [ www.TechFront.com.br ].
About Quepasa Corporation
Quepasa Corporation (
