Latham & Watkins Advises Jawaker on Its US$205 Million Sale to Stillfront Group

Latham & Watkins has advised Jawaker, a leading Abu Dhabi-based online gaming company backed by TwoFour54, in connection with its sale to Stillfront Group AB, a Swedish-listed global group of gaming studios and market-leader in the free-to-play online strategy games genre, for a total upfront consideration of US$205 million on a cash and debt free basis. The transaction represents one of the most significant exits by an Abu Dhabi-based start-up and underlines the strength of the UAE’s gaming sector.

The acquisition of Jawaker will further strengthen Stillfront’s presence in the strategically important and fast-growing MENA region, as well as broaden Stillfront’s games portfolio. Jawaker is a leading mobile gaming studio in the MENA region, with one of the largest classic Player versus Player (PvP) gaming apps in the world. Jawaker has built a strong presence in the MENA region, but it also has a significant share of revenue from the Arabic diaspora in Europe and North America.

The Latham team was led from Dubai by associate Omar Maayeh with counsel Eyad Latif and associate Stephanie Dang, and from London by partner Mike Turner with associate Katie Kaplucha.