Gree Inc. (3632.TO) said Friday it has signed a deal to buy OpenFeint, an U.S.-based mobile game platform operator, for $104 million.

Gree, a major social networking and gaming service with about 25 million users in Japan, said it will acquire all the shares of OpenFeint, which has about 75 million users around the world for its gaming platform for smartphones.

"We see an opportunity for further growth in overseas businesses with smartphones," Gree said in a statement Friday.

Although Gree isn't merging its service with OpenFeint into a single global platform, the two platforms could collaborate by, for example, sharing applications or jointly developing games, Gree spokeswoman Reina Mito said.

Japanese game developers looking beyond Gree's platform for overseas opportunities may also benefit by supplying games to OpenFeint's platform, she said.

The acquisition is part of Gree's strategy to aggressively seek overseas expansion through tie-ups and acquisitions.

In January, the company set up Gree International, a U.S. unit. Also in January, Gree agreed to a tie-up with Tencent Holdings Ltd. (0700.HK) to help the Chinese Internet service giant develop a social gaming platform for smartphones.

Gree said its partnership will allow game developers that currently work with Gree's platform to deliver games to Chinese users via Tencent's new platform.

-By Juro Osawa, Dow Jones Newswires; 813 6269 2794; juro.osawa@dowjones.com
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