Leading Mobile Publishers Join Forces to Enhance Mobile Gaming Experience

KANSAS CITY, Mo. & KEELE, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Handmark®, a global leader in mobile media, today announced a definitive agreement to acquire Astraware®, the world’s leading smartphone gaming studio. Astraware will be the dedicated U.K.-based game studio for Handmark.

The acquisition of Astraware will reinforce the position of Handmark as the leading developer and publisher of high-end smartphone titles. Handmark publishes best-selling smartphone versions of Tetris, Scrabble, and other games, as well as the award-winning Pocket Express mobile news service with millions of subscribers spanning the U.S., Canada and the U.K.

“We recognize the genius of the mobile gaming pioneers who created Astraware and welcome them to the Handmark family,” said Paul Reddick, Handmark CEO. “We share a passion for delivering superior mobile experiences.”

The Astraware portfolio stands out as a jewel among high-end mobile game developers. Combining the Handmark distribution and marketing machine with the critically acclaimed Astraware titles, including Astraware Sudoku, Zap! 2016 and Astraware Solitaire, creates a powerhouse publisher in the rapidly expanding smartphone market.

“For over 10 years, Astraware has successfully created some of the best mobile gaming brands in the industry, building a company through unparalleled focus on quality and customer satisfaction,” said Howard Tomlinson, co-founder and CEO of Astraware. “I am excited to be joining forces with Handmark, and we will be able to focus our experience and talent on creating games across more platforms, and together we will become one of the most powerful forces in the mobile gaming industry.”

The companies expect to conclude the transaction later this month.

About Handmark

Handmark® is a global leader in the development and distribution of mobile media, focused information and entertainment content for BlackBerry®, Palm® Treo™, Symbian, and Windows Mobile® devices. The award-winning Handmark Pocket Express®, transforms ordinary handsets into powerful business and entertainment tools. Handmark manages distribution partnerships around the world with major device manufacturers and operators. These partnerships, along with its technology and distribution relationships with The Associated Press, Oxford University Press, MobiTV, TV Guide, EA Mobile, and Zagat Survey as well as all major U.S. mobile operators, play a large part in the company’s growth and success. Handmark has offices in London, U.K.; as well as in the U.S. in Kansas City (world headquarters); San Francisco; Atlanta; New York; and Dallas. For more information, visit www.handmark.com.

About Astraware

Astraware Limited develops, publishes and distributes games for mobile devices. Some of the company’s best-known handheld titles include Astraware Sudoku, Zap! 2000/2016, PopCap Games’ Bejeweled®, and Zuma®, and Sandlot Games®’ Tradewinds®, and Glyph™. Astraware is a Microsoft® Certified Gold Partner, and a Palm® Select Developer. Mobile gaming enthusiasts have downloaded more than 50 million copies of Astraware’s products, and the company has customers in more than 100 countries. Visit Astraware at http://www.astraware.com.