The deal is confirmed - the premier streaming platform Twitch.tv has been acquired by Amazon, despite previous rumors pointing towards a deal with Google. The entirity of Twitch's shares will be bought off for approximately $970 million by the end of the year.
Initial hints that Twitch.tv might be acquired by a much larger company - the Google-owned video sharing mastodon YouTube - first appeared in May this year. Although sources reported that announcement about the deal will be made "imminently", there was no indication that it is actually finalized.
Such rumors appeared a month ago in late July, after several websites including IGN, PCGamer and VentureBeat reported that the deal between the two parties, Google and Twitch, might've been finalized two months after the rumors initially broke. Although no exact sum was given at the time, a number close to the $1 billion were mentioned.
Earlier today, however, news broke that the leading stream platform will in fact not become Google-owned and another Fortune 500 name was mentioned, that of Amazon. It took a few hours before official confirmation arrived and a few hours ago, Twitch CEO Emmett Shear released an official letter repeating what was already reported.
We're pleased to announce that we've been acquired by @amazon. Here is a letter from our CEO: http://t.co/PEwrXm402n
— Twitch (@Twitch) August 25, 2014
"Today, I’m pleased to announce we’ve been acquired by Amazon. We chose Amazon because they believe in our community, they share our values and long-term vision, and they want to help us get there faster. We’re keeping most everything the same: our office, our employees, our brand, and most importantly our independence. But with Amazon’s support we’ll have the resources to bring you an even better Twitch."
