Playdom, a leading social-media game company, in April bought Merscom, a Chapel Hill game developer with about 25 employees.
On Tuesday the consolidation continued: Playdom announced it agreed to be acquired by Walt Disney Co. for more than $500 million.
The deal extends Disney's push into online and mobile games. Playdom is one of the top makers of games played on Facebook and MySpace, with titles such as “Social City” and “Sorority Life.”
The purchase, which Disney expects to close by September, also will give the media giant a Triangle office.
Merscom's games include several based on movies such as "The Crazies" and TV shows such as Showtime's "The Tudors." The company also is developing games for Sea World, Purina, National Geographic and NBC Universal.
At the time the Merscom acquisition was announced, Playdom officials said they planned to use the company's Chapel Hill operations as their first East Coast office, and to tap this region's talent pool. Playdom is based in Mountain View, Calif., and has 15 game development studios.
The Chapel Hill office now has 29 employees and has openings posted for six more, Merscom co-founder Lloyd Melnick wrote in an e-mail. Melnick was named general manager of Playdom's international operations, while Merscom co-founder and CEO Kirk Owen runs the Chapel Hill operations.
Playdom officials couldn't be reached for comment today.
While the Triangle is far from the main video-game industry hub in Silicon Valley, this area is home to more than 30 companies that employ about 1,200 local workers. Gov. Bev Perdue last week signed a law that gives video-game companies tax breaks for creating jobs.
Assistant Business Editor Alan M. Wolf joined the N&O in 1999 covering the business of health care. He became an editor in 2001, and helps oversee the paper's daily business coverage and Sunday Work&Money section. He lives in Clayton with his wife and two children. Reach him at 919-829-4572 or