The maker of Angry Birds video games has agreed to be bought by the Japanese gaming giant behind the Sonic the Hedgehog character. Japan's Sega Sammy Holdings is paying €706m (£625m) for Finland-based Rovio Entertainment. Rovio has said Angry Birds was the first mobile game to be downloaded one billion times, and the brand has also produced two Angry Birds movies. Sega is seeking to tap into Rovio's expertise in mobile gaming. Last year, Rovio - which has about 550 employees across its eight game studios around the world - said downloads across its stable of games had reached five billion. Announcing the deal, Sega said its decision to buy Rovio had been driven by the need to "strengthen its position" in the global gaming market. It said this market is projected to grow to $263.3bn by 2026, with the percentage of mobile gaming expected to increase to 56%.
