Report: Social Marketplace Tapjoy Seeks Buyout From Major Publishers

Social app and game monetization firm Tapjoy is approaching several major players in the social games industry (e.g. Zynga) about possibly acquiring its operations, according to media reports. Inside Social Games, which cites multiple sources, says Tapjoy has sought negotiations with Zynga and Electronic Arts, as well as Japanese mobile social game developers/network operators GREE and DeNA. Though the San Francisco-based ad network's chief executive Mihir Shah has declined to comment on the rumor, Tapjoy did hire Al Wood as its new chief financial officer in July -- the executive previously helped guide mergers and IPOs at Veraz Networks and PalmSource. Tapjoy, which was founded in 2007 and acquired in 2010 by Offerpal (the company rebranded itself as Tapjoy), has made two other high-profile appointments recently: ex-SCEA SVP Peter Dille as its chief marketing officer, and ex-Yahoo VP Jim Jones as its VP and Sales GM. This report of possible sale negotiations come a month after Tapjoy launched its App Marketplace for reviewing/sharing mobile apps and earning virtual currency; and two weeks after the company announced a PapayaMobile partnership for an Android social games marketplace.