Gree to acquire California-based OpenFeint in $104 million deal

Japan-based Gree Inc. announced this week it will buy California-based OpenFeint Inc. in a deal worth a reported $104 million.

Bloomberg reports the Japanese company, an operator of social networking services, will buy the company as it works to expand its footprint in the U.S. OpenFeint provides more than 5,000 games to smartphone users and has a broad customer base. According to Gree executives, the company will have access to 75 million additional users through the acquisition.

Gree will use some of its cash stockpiles to fund the deal, according to company spokeswoman Reina Mito. The Japanese social networking giant is actively working to grow its business into new territories. The company plans to open offices in Beijing and London, and has established a partnership with China-based Tencent Holdings, which it hopes can help it gain a greater foothold in the world's most populous country.

In total, the companies' user base will reach over 100 million people. "At GREE, we are socializing the next evolution of games and, as the best-in-class US-based mobile social network, OpenFeint is the ideal partner for us to offer the best mobile social games to the largest global audience," Gree founder and chief executive Yoshikazu Tanaka said in a statement.

The deal is expected to close on Friday.