Sony Advances Talks With ClubPenguin For A $450 Million Acquisition

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 16, 2007

I believe what makes ClubPenguin (CP) a great company is that it lives up to its purpose: to be an online world for kids where they could safely play games, have fun, and interact with each other. Although I do not use the website myself, I have cousins that are about 10 years younger than myself that are proactive on the site. And they seem to enjoy the safe environment and the games.

When I read the news that Club Penguin may be getting acquired for $450 million by Sony Corporation on PaidContent, I can’t help but feel that this is definitely a company that deserves the win. The site is only funded by subscriptions and not advertising. And also Sony would be able to leverage the content on Club Penguin for its consoles.

Club Penguin is based in Canada. More specifically in Kelowna, British Columbia which is about four hours east of Vancouver by car. The company was launched in October 2005 and had 4.5 million visitors last March. Club Penguin was developed by New Horizon Interactive.

This past April, Club Penguin earned the prestigious award for the BBB Kid’s Privacy Seal of Approval. Less than a dozen other companies have earned this accolade.

If and when the acquisition completes, I’ll ensure to write about it.