Shine buys online gaming specialist Bossa

LONDON -- U.K.-based "super indie" Shine, owned by News Corp., has acquired upstart British social gaming specialist Bossa Studios for an undisclosed sum. The outfit, formed 11 months ago, will devise new content for social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, and develop original cross platform content. Bossa will also work with existing Shine shows, which include international hit "Masterchef." In a statement Elisabeth Murdoch, Shine's CEO and chairman, said: "As a global content company, we are committed to producing exceptional experiences across multiple platforms and developing direct to consumer models. We have long identified social gaming as a critical component to this strategy, and in Bossa Studios we discovered an entrepreneurial, creative team that shared our passion for creative excellence." Bossa's team of 20 includes co-founders, Henrique Olifiers, gamer in chief, Roberta Lucca, marketer in chief, Ric Moore, technologist in chief, and Imre Jele, creator in chief. Located in East London, Bossa is set to bow its first Facebook game, "Monstermind," next week. Shine has long harbored ambitions to move into making content for social media, but an earlier initiative stalled when in April last year former Bebo topper Joanna Shields ankled the indie, following a short stint at the company, to run Facebook's European operations. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Transformers 3 Dark Of The Moon Watch Online