ralian casino and mobile game developer Aristocrat has revealed it has agreed a $500m deal to acquire Israeli gaming company Plarium.

In addition to an upfront amount of $500m cash the deal includes an earn-out arrangement payable to Plarium shareholders following the end of calendar years 2017 and 2018 respectively.

Plarium is a privately owned free-to-play mobile, social and web-based game developer headquartered in Herzliya, Israel with over 1,200 employees across five genre-specific studios as well as multiple offices throughout Europe, Israel and the US.

Founded in 2009, Plarium is known for its various multiplayer online games such as Vikings: War of Clans, Terminator Genisys: Future War, Soldiers, Inc., Sparta: War of Empires, and Stormfall.

Aristocrat has confirmed that CEO and Co-Founder of Plarium, Avraham Shalel, will continue to lead Plarium post acquisition.

Mr Shalel and 12 other key members of Plarium’s management team have agreed to stay on and defer cash payment arrangements with Aristocrat, including deferring a portion of their upfront fee until the end of 2020.

This deal is part of concerted efforts by Aristocrat to expand into the mobile games sector in an attempt to diversify its business beyond gambling machines and casino games.

In a statement on the company’s website, Aristocrat CEO and Managing Director Trevor Croker said: “Aristocrat has continued to deliver significant growth and outstanding results in our Digital social casino business. The acquisition of Plarium allows Aristocrat to expand our addressable market into logical adjacent segments in the fast growing mobile gaming market.”