Zynga reportedly almost acquired Supercell for $400m in 2012, but deal fell through following failure of OMGPop

GamesIndustry.biz reports that Zynga came close to acquiring Supercell for $400 million in 2012, with founder and former CEO Mark Pincus saying he and Supercell co-founder Ilkka Paananen had agreed to an all-cash deal. The acquisition never closed after Zynga's board pushed back, effectively freezing the move at a moment when Supercell was still early in its rise.

Pincus ties that hesitation to Zynga's earlier $180 million purchase of OMGPop, the Draw Something studio that shut down less than 18 months later. In his telling, the board wanted proof Zynga could manage what it already owned before taking on another major buyout, and the company chose caution over expansion.

The missed opportunity looks even bigger in hindsight: Pincus says Supercell generated $500 million in net profit a year later. He also describes the governance friction around trying to force the deal through, including legal advice that doing so would likely trigger a board fight.

For developers and studio leaders, this is a useful case study in acquisition strategy, board control, and how one failed integration can reshape a publisher's appetite for risk. Zynga later kept buying studios, but Pincus argues the company spent too much time defending itself instead of backing bigger bets.