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Zynga rumored to acquire Draw Something maker OMGPOP

With more than 20 million downloads in less than six weeks, Draw Something is a mobile gaming phenomenon. Now it looks like Zynga might be trying to get a piece of that pie.

Dara Kerr Former senior reporter
Dara Kerr was a senior reporter for CNET covering the on-demand economy and tech culture. She grew up in Colorado, went to school in New York City and can never remember how to pronounce gif.
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Dara Kerr
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Rumor has it that game maker Zynga is in the running to buy the company OMGPOP, which makes the newest chart-topping game Draw Something.

If the acquisition goes through, it will be Zynga's biggest buyout to date, according the tech news site TechCrunch, which spoke to sources with direct knowledge of discussions between the two companies.

"Given that OMGPOP has raised around $17 million to date," TechCrunch reporter Kim-Mai Cutler wrote in an article speculating about the acquisition. "I'd expect the price for this deal to be in the $150 [million] to $250 million range."

Released just six weeks ago, OMGPOP's Draw Something has become a mega-hit in the iTunes App Store. The game itself is a lot like popular board game Pictionary. It now has more than 20 million downloads and both free and paid versions are at the tops of the download charts. Even though it can't be played directly on Facebook, as of last week it became the most popular game on the social-networking site--measured by use of the Facebook Connect log-in feature.

Besides Draw Something, OMGPOP also has more than 20 multiplayer flash games, including five Facebook games and several Mobile games. At the time of this writing, the company has generated about 1 Billion game plays, according to TechCrunch.

Zynga has been acquiring smaller companies here and there over the past couple of years. In January, the company announced it had bought four mobile gaming companies, including Gamedoctors, which makes ZombieSmash, and Page44 Studios, which developed the World of Goo. In late 2010, Zynga bought Newtoy--the maker of Words With Friends--for $53.3 million in cash and stock, according to TechCrunch.

The tech news site reports that the talks between Zynga and OMGPOP are not yet in advanced stages because other buyers, such as the Japanese company GREE, are also interested in buying the Draw Something game maker.

Zynga did not immediately return CNET's request for comment.