Outfit7

Outfit7 Ltd.
Subsidiary
Industry Games, Mobile App, Video Games
Founded July 2009 (2009-07)
Founder Samo and Iza Login
Headquarters London, UK
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
Products Talking Tom and Friends
Parent Zhejiang Jinke Entertainment Culture Co. Ltd.
Website www.outfit7.com
Footnotes / references
[1][2][3]
The old logo of the company

Outfit7 Limited (simply Outfit7, stylized as OUTFIT7; formerly OÜtFit7) is a multinational development company best known for the creation of the media app and franchise Talking Tom and Friends. Talking Tom and Friends apps have been downloaded over 6.5 billion times. In January 2017, it was acquired by United Luck Consortium and then sold to Zhejiang Jinke for over US$1 billion.

History

Outfit7 was started by Samo and Iza Login, who had studied computer science in college and wanted to get into the app business following the debut of the iOS App Store. In 2009, they invested about $250,000 along with six friends and set up on office in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where they attempted to develop some apps, such as a soccer app and a travel guide. Six months later, they developed a children's app called Talking Tom in which an animated cat would repeat things in a "high-pitched helium squeak whatever is spoken into an iPhone’s microphone" along with other reactions to feeding and petting.[4]

Talking Tom and Friends reached 300 million downloads 19 months after its launch. The app franchise then went on to hit one billion downloads in June 2013.[5] Outfit7’s free-to-download Talking Tom and Friends apps have been downloaded in over 230 countries and territories worldwide, from South Korea to Vatican City.[6]

Outfit7 is now releasing YouTube singles, merchandise and an animated series called Talking Tom and Friends. [7]

Talking Tom and Friends made their musical debut in 2012 with a duet between Tom and Angela called ‘You Get Me’. Created in partnership with Walt Disney Records/Hollywood Records, the video has received over 311 million views on YouTube as of March 2017. Talking Angela has also recorded her first solo song called ‘That’s Falling in Love’.

Outfit7, in partnership with Disney Interactive, launched a web-based animated series called Talking Friends based on the antics.

In February 2017, Jure Prek was named the CEO, and Žiga Vavpotič the Chairman of the Board.[8]

Outfit7 has offices in London; Ljubljana, Slovenia; Pissouri, Cyprus; Hong Kong and Beijing.[1]

Acquisition by Chinese investors

In 2016, the Logins hired Goldman Sachs to arrange for a lucrative deal to sell their company.[4] They were also advised by Clifford Chance.[9] In January 20, 2017 there were press releases that stated that Outfit7 was sold to Chinese group United Luck Holdings Consortium for US$1 billion, in a deal fronted by United Group Holdings Limited.[2] However, four days later, another press release indicated that United Luck would sell Outfit7 to Chinese chemical company, Zhejiang Jinke Peroxide Company, which renamed to Zhejiang Jinke Entertainment Culture Co. Ltd.[4][10] There was some confusion over who owned Outfit7 given that Jinke had disclosed plans to buy a 10% stake of United Luck. In March 2017, the agreement to sell Outfit7 to Jinke was signed.[11][12] Samo Login remained on board as company director, and Iza Login indicated on her LinkedIn that she was an advisor.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 "Outfit7 - About us". outfit7.com. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Talking Tom maker Outfit7 confirms it has been sold to United Luck Consortium for $1 billion". venturebeat.com. 20 January 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  3. ↑ "OUTFIT7 LIMITED :: OpenCorporates". opencorporates.com. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 "Why Did a Chinese Peroxide Company Pay $1 Billion for a Talking Cat?". 17 May 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017 – via www.bloomberg.com.
  5. ↑ Langshaw, Mark (14 June 2013). "Talking Friends apps reach 1 billion downloads". Digital Spy. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  6. ↑ N/A (14 June 2013). "Talking Tom – the Coolest Cat is Back – Bigger, Better and Cuter Than Before". Business Wire. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  7. ↑ Bloomberg News (7 November 2013). "Outfit7: The Biggest App Maker You've Never Heard Of". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 22 July 2014..
  8. ↑ http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/outfit7-announces-new-management-roles-following-recent-shareholder-sale-2194424.htm
  9. ↑ "Clifford Chance - Clifford Chance advises on US$1 billion acquisition of Outfit7 Investments". www.cliffordchance.com. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  10. ↑ "China’s Jinke Slumps on Plan to Buy Talking Tom Maker Outfit7". 25 January 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017 – via www.bloomberg.com.
  11. ↑ Javier, Jomel (6 March 2017). "Jinke Signs Agreement to Buy Famous Talking Tom App Maker, Competes with United Luck Group". yibada.com. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  12. ↑ Ho, Jane. "Talking Tom App Maker Outfit7 Flipped To China's Jinke At Over $1 Billion". forbes.com. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  13. ↑ "- News 2TM". 2tm.si. 13 March 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
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