Disney buys Playdom for $763 million

The talks are (mostly) over and it is now confirmed that Disney is buying Playdom valued at $763.2 million (US).

According to the New York Times, Walt Disney Company will pay $563.2 million and $200 million more later if Playdom “achieves growth thresholds that were not made public.”

As part of the deal, Playdom Chief Executive John Pleasants become a Disney Executive Vice President, reporting to Disney’s Interactive Media Group.

This also coincides with a confirmed sale of Miramax, a Disney film division, to rich guy Ronald Tutor and the investment firm Colony Capital, which includes 700+ films and may be secured soon by a hefty non-refundable down-payment.

Playdom is one of the big three causal game companies with games currently avaialble on Facebook and MySpace. Games by Playdom include Farmville, sorority Life, Nobsters, Treetopia and Lil Farm Life.

According to the CGA (Casual Game Association) web site, more than 200 million people play online casual games and the casual game industry brought in more than $3 billion in 2009.

Read [New York Times] Watch [Washington Post] Site [Playdom]