In order to strengthen its mobile gaming business, Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings Inc announced on Monday that it wanted to purchase Finland’s Rovio Entertainment Oyj for 706 million euros ($776 million). This news sent Rovio shares surging.

In its tender offer proposal scheduled to go live around May 8, Sega Sammy will provide 9.25 euros for each share of the business responsible for the mobile game Angry Birds, a 19% premium over Friday’s closing price.
Rovio shares increased as high as 18.8% in early European trading after the announcement.

According to Sega Sammy CEO Haruki Satomi, “In the rapidly expanding global gaming market, the mobile gaming market has especially high potential, and Sega’s long-term goal has been to accelerate its expansion in this field.”

According to the Sega Sammy release, the tender offer was accepted by the board of directors of Rovio, making the transaction a friendly takeover.

In the same written release, Rovio CEO Alexandre Pelletier-Normand remarked that combining the strengths of Rovio and Sega “presents an incredibly exciting future.”

However, despite investor concerns about potential synergies, Sega Sammy shares dropped 4.2% the day before the tender bid announcement but rose when it stated it was thinking about buying Rovio.

“‘Angry Birds’ is popular all around the world. However, the brand has already passed its prime, according to Serkan Toto, the company’s creator and CEO of Kantan Games.

“I believe this use of 700 million euros has disappointed investors (in Sega Sammy).”

Israeli rival Playtika Holding Corp (8II.F) made a 683 million euro purchase offer to Rovio in January, but the negotiations dissolved last month.