'Clash of Clans' maker Supercell buys majority stake in next door start-up

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish mobile game maker Supercell said on Wednesday it has bought a 51 percent stake in a fellow Helsinki game start-up Frogmind in the first acquisition for the company behind hit game 'Clash Of Clans'.

Frogmind, founded in 2012, is known for game series 'Badland' which has been downloaded by more than 45 million players.

Supercell said it will pay 7 million euros ($7.80 million) for the majority stake, adding that Frogmind will continue to operate as an independent company - similar to the way Supercell operates with its owner.

China's Tencent Holdings Ltd in June bought a majority stake in Supercell in a $8.6 billion deal which allowed the Finnish company keep its operational independence.

'Clash of Clans' has been among the top grossing apps since its launch in 2012. This week, Supercell's latest release, Clash Royale, passed Niantic Inc's Pokemon Go as the top grossing game on Apple's iOS devices in the United States, according to research company App Annie.

($1 = 0.8977 euros)

(Reporting by Tuomas Forsell, editing by Louise Heavens)