Social Point Raises $30M in a Round Led by Highland Capital Partners Europe
BARCELONA, Spain, July 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Social Point, a leading developer of mobile games, raised a $30M round led by Highland Capital Partners Europe. Existing investor, France-based Idinvest, also participated in the round. Social Point began as a developer of games for the Facebook platform, and has successfully transitioned over the last few years into a leading player of mobile games on both iOS and Android platforms with such titles as Dragon City and Monster Legends.
Social Point previously raised $4.5M in 2011, from Nauta Capital, its first institutional investor, and $14M from Greylock IL, Idinvest, and BBVA in the second half of 2012. In the current round, Nauta Capital, BBVA and to a minor extent the founders have sold to Highland and existing investors a small portion of their holdings.
"The company has been profitable for the last seven consecutive quarters and is on pace to surpass $100M in revenue for this year," said Andrés Bou, co-CEO of Social Point. "With much experience in the gaming space and their commitment to our vision we welcome the opportunity to partner with a well-known growth firm like Highland."
Breeding games Dragon City and Monster Legends have become a mainstream phenomenon with more than 50 million monthly active users and 150 million downloads since the company's inception. They have consistently been in top-grossing positions on iOS and Android in key Western markets, and now Social Point is planning to expand into Asia.
The firm, which has built its business on breeding games, now plans to define a new broader category named MASS (Mobile Action Social Strategy), which offers gamers deeper immersion, social interaction and longer-term gameplay. The company plans to launch three more MASS games during the second half of 2014 and four more during 2015.
"We believe that the MASS category is currently under served," said co-founder and co-CEO Horacio Martos. "Our next series of titles will address a consumer segment hungry for more strategic mobile gameplay that is built on competitiveness and can be played for months or even years."
"The founding team has a superb blend of creativity, leadership, operational focus, and financial acumen which have been key factors in positioning Social Point as the third largest game developer on Facebook," said Laurence Garrett, Partner with Highland Capital Partners Europe. "Mobile social gaming is a sector we know well and we look forward to helping the company build on their user-base and continue to develop immersive games that meet the desires of a growing global market."
About Social Point:
Founded by Horacio Martos and Andrés Bou in 2009, Social Point has grown from a capsule team of 40 at commercial launch in 2011 to a staff of 210 international developers, designers, and business development employees with a fan base of more than 150 million players. Based out of Barcelona, Social Point is backed by Greylock IL, Nauta Capital, Idinvest Partners, BBVA and Highland Capital Partners Europe.
About Highland Capital Partners Europe:
Through a dedicated European growth equity technology fund, Highland Europe embraces Highland Capital Partners' global mission of helping great people build great companies. Founded in 1988, Highland has raised over $3 billion in committed capital and invested in more than 225 companies, resulting in category-defining businesses across consumer and enterprise technology. Investments include: Ask Jeeves, Bromium, Gigamon, Lululemon, LevelUp, Lycos, MapQuest, Nebula, NewVoiceMedia, PhotoBox, Privalia, Smart Things, Qihoo 360, Quattro Wireless, Rent the Runway, Starent Networks, Sybase, VistaPrint and wooga. For more information, visit www.hcp.com.
About Nauta Capital:
Nauta Capital is a Venture Capital firm investing in early stage technology companies. Main areas of interest include B2B Software propositions, disruptive Digital Media companies, and enabling technologies for Mobile and the Internet. Nauta has $230 million under management and invests in Western Europe and the USA. Nauta has presence in London (UK), Boston, MA (USA), and Barcelona (Spain). Investments include leading companies like Social Point, Scytl, Eyeview Digital, Brandwatch, Privalia and Greatcall.
About Idinvest Partners:
Idinvest Partners (based in Paris, France) is a European private equity and venture capital investor, managing $4 billion. The firm was part of Allianz until 2010 and became independent with the backing of IDI Group. Having funded more than 100 startups in Europe since 1999 (like Criteo, Meetic, Dailymotion, Deezer, Viadeo, Talend), Idinvest Partners is also active in the online gaming space from seed to late-stage with studios and operators like Pretty Simple, Social Point, Plumbee, Grand Cru, eRepublik Labs, Kobojo, Eden Games, Curse, Winamax, and Zeturf.
About GreylockIL:
GreylockIL is an affiliate fund of Greylock Partners with offices in Israel and London. Some of the fund's investments include: Actifio, Aeroscout, ScaleIO, iZettle, JustEat, Payoneer, Wanova and Wonga. For more information visit: www.greylockil.com.
SOURCE Highland Capital Partners Europe
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