Google’s acquisition of Twitch for $1 billion reportedly confirmed

According to VentureBeat, citing sources familiar with the matter, Google has reached an agreement with Twitch to acquire the live streaming video platform for $1 billion. While the deal appears to have been finalized, the two companies have yet to make a formal announcement regarding the acquisition. Google’s YouTube division is reportedly in charge of the acquisition. 

“We don’t know everything about this deal, such as when it will be announced and the exact purchase price,” wrote Dean Takahashi of VentureBeat. “We do know that investors who participated in past rounds are pleased that the will be getting significant rounds that were multiple times the amount they original invested as a return.”

Google acquiring Twitch would make it nothing short of a streaming video powerhouse, having already purchased YouTube for $1.65 billion in October 2006. It would also provide the Mountain View company with a multibillion dollar advertising opportunity, as Twitch has over 50 million active monthly users and 1.1 million members that broadcast videos per month.

San Francisco-based Twitch was launched in June 2011 by Justin Kan and Emmett Shear as a subsidiary of video broadcasting website Justin.tv. The website allows for PC, PlayStation and Xbox users to live stream their video game sessions as they are playing, and the medium has been exceptionally popular. A number of live streams can receive millions of viewers at any given time.

It was first reported that Google and Twitch were in acquisition talks a few months ago, although the Wall Street Journal claimed that the deal was still in the early stages at the time.

Google and Twitch declined comment.