Sungy Mobile acquires app store GetJar for $5.3M plus 1.44M possible shares as earn out
Exclusive: GetJar, an early app store maker, has been acquired (Updated) — A decade after it was started in Lithuania, GetJar, one of the earliest app stores has been acquired by a Chinese company specializing …
Context & Ripple Effects
GetJar entered 2014 after building an independent-store model around scale, including an $11 million funding round and a plan to use free games to draw users. Its sale follows an earlier consolidation marker in which PocketGear acquired Handango as handset makers and third-party stores competed for mobile-software distribution.
First-order effects
- Sungy Mobile takes control of GetJar’s app-store operation, while GetJar’s sellers receive $5.3 million and may receive up to 1.44 million Sungy shares through the earn-out.
- The earn-out ties part of the consideration to GetJar’s post-deal performance, giving its former owners a direct stake in the business under Sungy.
Second-order effects
- Sungy gains an established independent distribution channel and brand in a market where third-party stores have competed through catalog scale and free-content promotions.
- Other independent app-store operators face a more consolidated rival, reinforcing the pressure to differentiate through distribution partnerships, catalog strategy, or their own combinations.
Third-order effects
- The deal points to mobile-app distribution consolidating beyond handset-maker stores: independent storefronts can become acquisition targets for companies seeking reach rather than building a store from scratch.
- If this pattern persists, the strategic value of an app store will rest less on being a standalone destination and more on the audience and distribution infrastructure it contributes to a larger mobile business.
The trend: Mobile app distribution is shifting from a field of standalone storefronts toward consolidation around operators that can combine stores with broader mobile reach.