Chinese giant tech Tencent explores a potential acquisition of Nexon, the game developer in South Korea behind the hit title of the hit Dungeon & FighterBloomberg Report. Nexon has been heavily invested in Web 3 gaming, including the ambitious Maplestory franchise.
The company has been reported to approach the family of the late Nexon founder Kim Jung-Ju, who controls a 44.4% stake in Nexon through Holding Company NXC Corp, to discuss a potential acquisition.
The discussions are still preliminary, and there is no guarantee that they will result in a deal, the report said, noting the resources close to the matter.
If successful, Tencent will get a company with a $ 16.6 billion market capitalization, a step that can reign its ambitions in global playing M&A after a slowing down provoked by Chinese regulations in 2020.
The deal may help Tencent secure long-term control over the famous intellectual property and give it a firmer foothold in the beneficial gaming market in South Korea.
But any deal will be complicated.
The Kim family inherited control after the death of the founder in 2022 and since the sharing of the Korean government to cover the inheritance taxes. The government has been Its stake cannot be uploaded.
Tencent had previously tried to buy Nexon in 2019, but the conversations collapsed in pricing. This new attempt is following Tencent’s $ 1.3 billion investment in a new Ubisoft unit and a 10% stake in K-Pop Label SM Entertainment.
Chinese giant tech also expands in the blockchain space, announced earlier this year that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to produce a suite of blockchain api services with Ankr.
Read more: S. Korean gaming giant Nexon to use Polygon for the popular Maplestory universe
