Angry Birds developer acquires animation studio Kombo

Rovio, the Helsinki-based developer of gaming sensation Angry Birds, announced Wednesday it had acquired Finnish animation studio Kombo for an undisclosed amount of cash and stock.

Rovio said it wants expand in all areas of the entertainment business, and Kombo will help with its long-term goal of becoming a “world-class powerhouse in animated entertainment.”

“We have had a long and fruitful relationship with Kombo in the past,” said Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio, in a statement. “This acquisition is an important step in the execution of our media strategy. The attitude, creativity, and quality of Kombo’s work is simply fantastic, and we look forward to delighting our fans with more Kombo animations.”

Rovio has plenty of cash on hand for purchases like Kombo after raising $42 million in venture capital funding in March. The Angry Birds brand continues to explode with more versions of the game being released like Angry Birds Rio, which came out in March.

As of late April, the original Angry Birds has had more than 140 million downloads since its initial release in December 2009. No doubt that trend will continue as Rovio continues to grow and expand its reach across mobile platforms and even TVs.