Sega has been approved to buy Rovio, the developer of Angry Birds, after buying back 96.3% of the outstanding shares.

CTOnews.com, August 11 (Xinhua)-- Sega Sammi Holdings announced in April that it would buy Finnish studio Rovio Entertainment, whose main game is the once-popular Angry Birds mobile game. The latest news is that the deal is nearing completion.

Sega Sammi Holdings recently issued a press release announcing the acquisition of Rovio through its European subsidiary Sega Europe Ltd. (Sega Europe Limited) with 96.3% (73397174 shares) of outstanding shares.

Rovio explained that after meeting Sega's 90 per cent tradable share requirements and obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals, the company would be incorporated into the Sega family upon completion of the offering on August 17.

Rovio shareholders and option holders who accepted the offer expect to receive a payment on August 17, while the remaining holders of securities can accept the offer from August 11 to August 25 (payment will be made around September 6).

Sega plans to buy back all shares of Rovio Entertainment at 9.25 euros per share (currently about 74 yuan) and has submitted an application to the Helsinki Stock Exchange to delist Rovio as soon as possible.

It was previously reported that the transaction value of the acquisition was 706 million euros (CTOnews.com Note: currently about 5.613 billion yuan).

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