Budge Studios, the maker of Bluey: Let’s Play, Paw Patrol Rescue World and Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures, is to be acquired by private equity firm Haveli Investments.
Montreal, Canada-based developer Budge makes licensed kids games based on popular IP including Bluey, Paw Patrol, Barbie, Frozen, Hot Wheels and Hello Kitty. Its games have been downloaded over 2bn times, according to today’s announcement. Budge says it has players in over 200 countries.
Haveli is acquiring Budge from current owner General Atlantic, an investor with stakes in a multitude of companies, including Anthropic and Liftoff. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Budge’s new owner, Haveli Investments, is based in Texas, USA, and also has notable stakes in several other gaming companies. They include Behaviour Interactive, Match Masters creator Candivore, London start-up studio Omeda Studios, Runescape maker Jagex, Million Lords maker Million Victories, Lego Party publisher Fictions and WGT, maker of World Tour Golf.
Budge Studios cofounder and coCEO Michael Elman said of the deal: “Reaching this moment in Budge Studios’ evolution is both humbling and deeply meaningful for us.”
“Haveli’s investment provides not only additional capital, but strategic support to accelerate our long-term vision, expand our portfolio, and continue building new play experiences for families as demand for fresh and exciting content continues to grow.”
