Behind the scenes of GREE's latest acquisition: what made Funzio right for the Japanese mobile giant

GREE’s surprise $210 million acquisition of Funzio wasn’t a surprise for everyone — according to Funzio’s former COO Anil Dharni, the two companies had been meeting together for the past six months. As it turns out, GREE’s purchase of the San Francisco-based company wasn’t based on competition from a potential funding round, but both company’s long-term goals for the lucrative mid-core gaming market.

“We had been exploring the idea for some time. We were interested in it at a high level, and as we dug into it deeper and deeper, the more both sides became more and more excited,” explains Shanti Bergel, GREE’s senior vice president of business and corporate development.

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