Zynga to buy Toon Blast maker Peak for $1.8 bn

Social gaming giant Zynga said Monday it had struck a deal to acquire Turkish-based rival Peak, maker of the popular Toon Blast and Toy Blast games, for $1.8 billion.

The deal gives Zynga two of the most popular mobile games for iPhone users as well as a pipeline for new games in development, the companies said.

Zynga will acquire the 100-person Peak team, a company founded in 2010 by Sidar Sahin and known for popularizing the "collapse" feature in puzzle games.

By scooping up Toon Blast and Toy Blast which have a combined 12 million average daily users, Zynga will boost its mobile games presence by some 60 percent.

"We are honored to welcome Sidar and team to Zynga. Peak is one of the world's best puzzle game makers and we could not be more excited to add such creative and passionate talent to our company," said Zynga chief executive Frank Gibeau.

"With the addition of Toon Blast and Toy Blast, we are expanding our live services portfolio to eight forever franchises, meaningfully increasing our global audience base and adding to our exciting new game pipeline. As a combined team, we are well positioned to grow faster together."

Zynga, which was founded in 2007, was known for games such as FarmVille and Words With Friends and initially was in partnership with Facebook for games on the social network.

The two firms ended an exclusive deal for the games on Facebook in 2012.