5 Questions for David Cowan on the Playdom Sale
Walt Disney Co. today announced that it will buy social gaming company Playdom for up to $763 million. It's the largest exit of a VC-backed gaming company since Playfish was acquired last fall by EA, and is significantly larger. So we've got five questions for David Cowan of Bessemer Venture Partners, which became a Playdom investor just last month: 1. Playdom reports fewer monthly numbers than did Playfish at the time of its acquisition, but is being acquired at a price that's around 90% higher. Why? Cowan: I think there are three answers here. First, you always have to look at the specific acquiror and the strategic fit and value of the company being acquired. I don't know the specifics of the valuation that went into Playfish, but do know that Disney expects a lot of synergies as it brings the Playdom team into other Disney properties. Second, number of users is only one metric. I think that Playdom's revenues were significantly more at the time of acquisition. Third, Wild Ones is totally, totally awesome.
