Hasbro pays $112m for Backflip

Hasbro says it has dropped $112 million in cash to become the majority shareholder of Backflip Studios.

The toy manufacturer is looking to expand its presence in the mobile games industry, and The Wall Street Journal reports the company now has a 70 percent stake in the game studio.

Backflip is the developer of games like DragonVale, Ninjump, and Paper Toss, and will continue to develop its own intellectual property.

The payoff for Hasbro is that it now has another mouthpiece for its brands, and it wouldn’t be surprising if a My Little Pony or Furby game hit the app store in the next few months.

“The acquisition of Backflip fits perfectly into our strategy of extending our brands into all forms and formats," said Hasbro president and CEO Brian Goldner.

Hasbro has already released several iOS apps, but this move will help bolster its offering in what has recently shown to be one of the company’s more profitable sectors.

Lately the company has been hit with heavy restructuring costs, but did better than expected thanks in part to its gaming venture.

Just last month Hasbro forged a deal with Rovio that gives it the rights to develop toys and games based on the Angry Birds franchise.