In‌ ‌keeping‌ ‌with‌ ‌our‌ ‌mission‌ ‌to‌ ‌provide‌ ‌comprehensive‌ ‌advertising‌ ‌analysis,‌ ‌MediaRadar‌ ‌puts‌ together‌ ‌a‌ ‌report‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌most‌ ‌important‌ ‌mergers‌ ‌and‌ ‌acquisitions‌ ‌news‌ ‌each‌ ‌week.‌ ‌Stay‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ loop,‌ ‌whether‌ ‌you‌ ‌sell‌ ‌advertising‌ ‌space‌ ‌or‌ ‌focus‌ ‌on‌ ‌business‌ ‌development.‌ ‌ ‌

This‌ ‌week, ByteDance acquired Moonton, Equifax bought i2verify, ‌and Bally’s gained Monkey Knife Fight.

ByteDance wins bid for Moonton

Chinese tech company and parent company of TikTok, ByteDance has announced it has completed its acquisition of video game publisher Moonton. The deal has an estimated value of $4 billion. 

In internal communications ByteDance CEO Yuan Jing stated that Moonton will continue to operate independently from ByteDance’s gaming division Nuverse. The deal aims to use cross-team collaboration, with Moonton providing strategic support to accelerate Nuverse’s global gaming offerings. 

Earlier this year, Moonton partnered with data service provider JOIDATA in a three-year deal to apply JOIDATA’s proprietary esports data system for Moonton’s major title, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. 

In 2017, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang was targeted in a lawsuit by Nuverse’s main competitor Tencent, which claimed Mobile Legends was a copy of League of Legends. League of Legends studio Riot Games won and was awarded $2.89 million. 

Tencent put up a bid for Moonton, but the offer was matched by ByteDance. 

Equifax closes i2verify deal

Equifax announced that it has closed the acquisition of i2verify, an income and employment verification provider. The acquisition expands Equifax’s suite of automated verification capabilities and brings incremental efficiencies to both consumers and credential verifiers. 

With a focus in the healthcare and education sectors, i2verify offers instant access to employment and wage data to verifiers who meet requirements for access under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. 

The i2verify capabilities will add to Equifax Workforce Solutions’ progress to increase consumer access to credit through secure and efficient digital verifications. 

Equifax’s flagship service The Work Number will use i2verify to accelerate the process for consumers applying for mortgages, social service benefits and other important financial services, according to Joe Munchnick, SVP at Equifax Workforce Solutions. 

Bally’s Corporation expands portfolio with Monkey Knife Fight

Bally’s Corporation has completed its acquisition of Monkey Knife Fight, the gaming platform and third-largest daily fantasy sports operator in North America which spans 37 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada. 

The deal is part of Bally’s long-term growth and diversification strategy to become the first truly vertically integrated sports betting and iGaming company in the U.S. with a B2B2C business model. 

This latest deal builds upon Bally’s acquisition of Bet.Works for $125 million. Monkey Knife Fight has approximately 180,000 registered users and 80,000 depositing players, which will contribute to Bally’s growing player database and give the company a significant advantage to launching its own B2C sports betting operations. 

Monkey Knife Fight gives Bally’s the potential to incorporate its portfolio of land-based casinos, including the recently-acquired Bally’s Atlantic City, and iGaming platforms.

In‌ ‌Other‌ ‌News‌ ‌

Other notable events this week include:

• Dropbox, Inc. announced this week that it has completed the acquisition of DocSend, a service that helps customers share and track documents with secure links instead of using attachments. The deal is valued around $165 million.

• Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern have agreed to a merger which would create the first U.S.-Mexico-Canada rail network.

• News Corp announced that it is acquiring Investor’s Business Daily (IBD) from O’Neil Capital Management for $275 million.

• Mondelēz International announced an agreement to acquire a majority interest in U.K.-based protein snack bar maker Grenade for £200 million ($275 million). 

• According to The Insider, PR software giant Cision Ltd. is looking to spin off its press release service PR Newswire, one of the main competitors to Berkshire Hathaway’s Business Wire. 

• Microsoft Corporation is reportedly in talks to acquire video game chat platform Discord for $10 billion. According to people familiar with the matter, no deal is imminent but talks will continue. 

• Smart TV maker Vizio Holding Corp. made its debut as a public company on NYSE Thursday following its IPO. At $21 per share of the offer price, Vizio notched a $3.21 billion market value.