EA to acquire Australian mobile development firm Firemint

EA has announced an agreement to acquire Firemint development studio based in Melbourne, Australia.

Firemint creates mobile games such as Flight Control and Real Racing for iPhone and iPad.

The firm acquired Puzzle Quest developer Infinite Interactive back in January in order to "help strengthen both the development and publishing arms of the studio."

“The Firemint team is remarkable for its critical and commercial success,” said Barry Cottle, executive VP and GM of EA Interactive. “Having them as part of EAi will accelerate our position as worldwide leader in game development for mobile devices and online gaming platforms.”

The agreement follows EA’s recent acquisition of Mobile Post Production Inc., a cross-platform development and porting of games for smartphones.

The deal between Firemint and EA is expected to close within four weeks. Financial details are not disclosed, but may be touched upon tomorrow when EA releases its Q4 FY11 financials.

Firemint recently expanded development into DSiWare, PSN, and Steam platforms and is mentioned on a list of developers creating titles for NGP.