Walt Disney to buy social-gaming site Playdom for US$563.2 million

Disney said Tuesday it is buying Playdom to strengthen its digital-gaming portfolio. The purchase will help bring Disney's characters, stories and brands to customers in new ways, through Facebook and MySpace.

Playdom, which is based in Mountain View, California, has about 42 million monthly active users, who play games such as “Social City” and “Sorority Life.”

In addition to the purchase price, Playdom shareholders may also earn another US$200 million if the company meets certain financial targets.

The deal comes less than a month after Disney announced it bought Tapulous, the maker of the popular iPhone music game “Tap Tap Revenge.” And Disney bought the popular online kids hangout Club Penguin for US$350 million in 2007.

Disney is snapping up Playdom amid a boom for online social games, which are played for free by millions of people and make money through ads and, more importantly, sales of virtual goods for small amounts of money.

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