Hitcents, an award-winning cross-platform mobile app and game studio, has acquired Moonshark, a mobile entertainment publisher, co-founded by Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

Launched in 2012, Moonshark funds, produces, markets, and publishes mobile entertainment properties developed in partnership with high-profile talent and leading app developers. The company has worked with Jennifer Lopez, John Woo, author Neil Gaiman, Stanley Cup winner Patrick Kane, and comic book icon Stan Lee, among others.

The acquisition enables Hitcents to expand its portfolio, while continuing to create high-quality mobile entertainment experiences. Hitcents will provide Moonshark with an in-house development team, in addition to support for its current products and customers, further strengthening its position as a leading entertainment mobile app publisher. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Hitcents most recently worked in partnership with CAA and its Academy Award-winning client Tom Hanks on the development of Hanx Writer, a new app that recreates the experience of a manual typewriter, but with the ease and speed of an iPad. Hanx Writer, which launched on August 13 and is available as a free download exclusively on Apple iTunes App Store for iPad and iPad mini, reflects the look, feel, and sound of old-fashioned word-processing while embracing a few new-fashioned luxuries.

“We have enjoyed a great working relationship with CAA within the mobile space, and were impressed by the creativity and quality of the entertainment apps that Moonshark had published,” said Ed Mills, Co-Founder, Hitcents. “Combining Moonshark’s world-class IP with Hitcents’ resources will enable us to marry talent and creativity to deliver original premium content to an extremely active space.”

Mills will relocate to Los Angeles to spearhead the new project, integrating Moonshark with Hitcents’ San Francisco, Shanghai, and Bowling Green offices.

CAA has conceptualized and incubated multiple technology ventures, in addition to Moonshark, including, Funny Or Die, a transmedia comedy content company; WhoSay, a social media service for high-profile talent and other influencers; and EmpoweredU, a pioneer in the development of an intuitive, mobile-centric cloud-based learning environment.

ABOUT HITCENTS

Hitcents is an award-winning cross-platform mobile app and game studio, a unique and powerful mix of creative ideas and cutting-edge development. Hitcents’ headquarters are in Bowling Green, Kentucky with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Shanghai, China. Solutions include web design and mobile app and game development.