Disney 'in talks' for video games maker Playdom

Walt Disney is in talks to buy Playdom, maker of video games played on the Facebook social-networking website, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations.

An agreement may be reached as soon as the coming week, the source said. Playdom may be sold for more than US$500 million ($690 million), the Wall St Journal reported. TechCrunch.com reported the talks earlier.

Playdom would extend Disney's expansion in online and mobile games. This month, the company acquired Tapulous, a developer of music-related games for Apple's iPod and iPad.

Disney, the world's largest media company, is attracted to the growth of mobile games and mobile media, Steve Wadsworth, head of the internet unit, said in a July 1 interview.

"Playdom is the biggest guy left that's independent that's not crazy expensive," said Michael Pachter, a Los Angeles-based analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities.

Jonathan Friedland, a spokeswoman for Burbank, California-based Disney, declined to comment.

Mountain View, California-based Playdom raised US$33 million in June, from venture capital groups including Disney-backed Steamboat Ventures, which invests in digital media, consumer and technology companies. The funding brought the total raised by the company to US$76 million.

Playdom announced a content partnership with Disney's ESPN sports cable channel in May.

Disney rose US54c to US$34.13 on Friday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

Shares have gained 5.8 per cent this year.

- BLOOMBERG