Farmville creator Zynga buys Toronto’s FiveMobile

On June 29th, 2011 Five Mobile claimed online (with a smiley face attached) that Canada is the mobile hub of the world. While this Twitter statement is a little far-fetched, a week or so later the blossoming Toronto-based technology company announced a deal to help move this country one step closer to reaching that goal.

Zynga Inc., the largest and best-known creator of Facebook games, acquired Five Mobile Inc. on July 8th. Although there were few numeric details about the puchase, chances are that managing partner Ameet Shah and his team will be smiling pretty in real life for a while thanks to an opportunity to work with the folks who created Farmville, CityVille, MafiaWars, and more addictive ways to play on the web. According to Bloomberg, Zynga is planning an IPO later this fall that is expected to reach an estimated $2 billion.

While this acquisition is one of a few high-profile buys for the company that is "connecting the world through games," it's a substantial win for FiveMobile and those of us north of the border who are keenly watching as Canadian companies from across the country are putting us on the mobile map. It's also a bit of a surprise, namely because Five Mobile has a couple hits under its belt, including an app for Cineplex and Realtor.ca, but aside from those downloads the company hasn't had a big win in the casual gaming market.

Zynga mentions on its blog that this purchase will help position them "in a hotbed of mobile development talent." With this Toronto homebase, they'll now be able to take advantage of FiveMobile's very capable engineering team and they are also acquiring "certain assests and Intellectual Property."

Late this spring Shah joined us on App Central, a TV show I co-host on CTV. I watched the interview just the other day to see if there was even a hint of such an exciting future for his company, but he held his cards close to his chest and focused on the company's existing clients and apps. What can we expect from the new Zynga Toronto in the months to come? It's tough to say, but selling movie tickets and houses could be a distant memory.