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IMG Tapped By Rovio To Handle Angry Birds Franchise Licensing

Rovio Entertainment has appointed IMG as the exclusive worldwide consumer products licensing agent for the iconic Angry Birds franchise, the companies announced Wednesday.

Since launching its first mobile game in 2009, Angry Birds has grown into a multi-media brand with a presence in several areas of entertainment, technology and merchandising. It still draws tens of millions of active users and viewers of its games and animated content. Franchise characters have also populated two movie releases, which together grossed more than $500 million worldwide, plus animated series, location-based entertainment and consumer products.

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Mobile games from the franchise have been downloaded over 4.5 billion times.

Finland-based Rovio had a high-profile IPO in 2017 that valued the company at $1 billion. Its results since then have been much more subdued and its share price has not returned to its IPO level. For the full year 2019, the company’s revenue inched up 3% to $313.7 million, while adjusted operating profits dropped 43% to $19.6 million.

“Over the years Rovio has worked with a number of agents around the world, supporting us greatly in making Angry Birds available to fans everywhere in various physical forms,” Rovio CEO Kati Levoranta said in a press release. “While we continue to focus on developing and publishing memorable gaming experiences and content, in IMG we have found a partner with whom we aim to deliver a more strategic and globally consistent licensing program that’s aligned with our core business.”

IMG licensing chief Bruno Maglione said the evolution of Angry Birds from its mobile game roots is “perhaps one of the most impressive achievements in recent times in new original animated character creation. Working closely with Rovio, we are enthusiastic about the potential to take this franchise to new levels of success as it embarks on its next decade.”

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