GSN Games to acquire Bash Gaming, the creator of Bingo Bash
GSN Games, the social gaming subsidiary of Sony-owned Game Show Network (GSN), has agreed to acquire Bangalore based social casino studio Bash Gaming. Bash Gaming is the creator of Bingo Bash, social bingo game which has more than 4.8 Mn monthly active users (MAUs) playing across Facebook, iOS, Android and Kindle devices.
“With the Bash Gaming acquisition, we will expose our millions of social casino players to the Bingo Bash experience, while introducing existing Bingo Bash players to our highly engaging games including Wheel of Fortune® Slots and Deal or No Deal™ Slots. We will leverage the strength of our respective organizations, including talent, reach and technology, to build a gaming powerhouse,” said Jeff Karp, executive vice president, mobile and social games, GSN Games.
With the Bash Gaming acquisition, GSN Games will have two of 2013’s top 10 overall grossing iPad apps and a monthly active user base of nearly 10 Mn players.
The acquisition is expected to be close by mid of March.
Snapdeal forays into ecommerce services with launch of education and online learning category
Online marketplace, Snapdeal has now entered into ecommerce service with the launch of education and online learning category on the website. At the click of a button, now its users can get access to a wide range of test preparation material, certificate courses, classroom training and online courses.
Brands like Edukart, Simplilearn, Meritnation, EasySkillz, Practice Guru and Test Funda have already pitched in along with Snapdeal to assist users preparing for the various examinations. Snapdeal.com has developed this platform with a clear understanding that the Indian market had lacked one go to destination where all possible study materials are accessible. This initiative brings together major brands of online courses which will save the customer from checking through numerous websites for materials and papers.
Through the launch of this category, Snapdeal enables large and small organizations that have great elearning content but lack the nationwide distribution to reach out to over its 20 Mn. The procedure is simple, all one needs to do is log on to Snapdeal.com and purchase a voucher for the preferred course or preparation material. The user receives a username and password along with instruction to get started in less than 24 hours of the purchase.
Assam to launch Angel fund to aid entrepreneurs
Assam will soon start an Angel Fund to aid entrepreneurs of the state to help startups; as stated in the 2013 Budget Report. The departments handling trade and commerce of Assam have initiated the scheme for implementation throughout the state and have partnered Assam Gramin Vikas Bank. The state government has set aside Rs 12 Cr for the Angel Fund, and requested corporate houses such as Oil India Ltd (OIL), ONGC, Tata, Reliance, etc. to donate money for the Angel Fund.
“The Angel Fund scheme is designed to give gainful employment to the first generation entrepreneurs of Assam for overcoming the problems of shortage of startup capital in terms of equity to establish their new ventures or expanding existing ventures,” said Pradyut Bordoloi, Assam’s industry minister.
However, it also has set an eligibility criteria, according to which only an “individual, skilled youth and prospective entrepreneurs who have undergone skill development training in the department of industries and commerce or any other government department would be eligible to avail loan from the Angel Fund”.
Linkedin launches Chinese language site
Professionals in China and other parts of the world prefer to communicate in their native language, particularly in a business context, so, to expand its presence in China, professional social networking website, LinkedIn has launched a beta version of the Chinese language site to offer a more localized service to its members in China.
Through this site, the company hopes to connect over 140 Mn Chinese professionals, with more than 277 Mn existing members globally. LinkedIn’s English site has been available in China for over a decade and presently has more than 4 Mn members in China.
Exisiting LinkedIn members in China work at nearly 80,000 leading local and multi-national companies, such as Lenovo, Tencent and Procter & Gamble.The website has added local features, such as integration of Sina and Tencent into its platform so that members can easily import their Weibo contacts, invite other professionals to join their networks and reach a broader audience with their status updates. The members who have WeChat accounts can link both accounts, so that they can more rapidly broaden their professional reach and share relevant news and insights across both networks.
“The company would have to censor some of the content that users post on its website in order to comply with Chinese rules”, conveyed Jeff Weiner, Chief executive, LinkedIn in a blogpost.
