As acquisition deals have already successfully forged some notable combos, mobile competitive gaming platform Skillz will be acquiring AI-powered mobile marketing platform Aarki in a multi-million deal. Skillz’s goal is to use Aarki’s cutting-edge technological solutions to establish a fully integrated advertising platform for esports.
A Multi-Million Deal and a Promising Partnership
The acquisition deal will have Skillz pay Aarki $150 million in cash and stock. As an additional detail, Aarki’s CEO will retain his position as the company passes into Skillz’s possession. As of now, the bargain is planned to close in the third quarter of this year.
Skillz’s CEO Andrew Paradise spoke on the matter. He believes that Aarki’s proven machine learning will be an invaluable addition. This, combined with Skillz’s first-party data, will result in a product like no other that game developers will be delighted to use. Paradise elaborates that the integrated ecosystem will unlock new points of connectivity. According to him, it will bring developers, customers, and brands closer together by providing a “superior user experience.”
Aarki’s CEO, Levon Budagyan, in turn, shared Paradise’s enthusiasm by confirming that the two parties’ strengths will complement each other and will yield advantages that will help to build a strong customer community. Budagyan is positive that together Skillz and Aarki will build strong foundations for further growing their market.
Skillz’ Stocks Skyrocketing
As a result of the acquisition deal, Skillz’s stock prices almost immediately jumped by 32%, making it one of the most successful gaming equities. The reason for that is the compatibility between the two platforms and the prospects of their future collaborative work.
Moreover, as Skillz has a variety of notable investors, the stocks may rise even further, should they see a new potential in the Skillz and Aarki combo.
This will let Skillz take a breath of fresh air. The company’s stocks plummeted by 55% since February when several disgruntled reports criticized the stock. They alleged that Skillz engages in accounting gimmickry and pretends to have higher revenues to investors than it actually does. The reports we also unhappy with the high customer acquisition cost.
Aarki’s skills in marketing and finance are sure to help Skillz to work on the points made by the critics, and help will help to establish a better relationship with advertisers.
In 2020 Skillz was a part of a trend where 18 gaming-related companies went public to raise funds. The trend continued in 2021, with Playtika raising 1.8 million through IPO.