Chinese Technical Gigant Tencent is investigating a potential acquisition of Nexon, the South Korean game developer behind the hittline Dungeon & FighterReports Bloomberg. Nexon is heavily invested in web 3 games, including the ambitious Maplestory franchise.
The company has reportedly approached the family of Nexon’s late founder Kim Jung-Ju, who controls a 44.4% share in Nexon via Holding Company NXC Corp to discuss a potential acquisition.
Discussions are still preliminary and there is no guarantee that they will result in an agreement, says the report, citing sources close to the case.
If successful, Tencent would acquire a company with a market value of $ 16.6 billion, one step that could re -establish its ambitions in Global Gaming M&A following a slowdown prepared by Chinese regulatory crashes by 2020.
The deal could help Tencent ensure long -term control of popular intellectual property and give it a firmer foothold in South Korea’s lucrative gaming market.
But every deal would be complicated.
The Kim family inherited control after the founder’s death in 2022 and has since handed over shares to the Korean government to cover heritage taxes. The government has been unable to relieve its share.
Tencent previously tried to buy Nexon in 2019, but conversations collapsed about pricing. This new trial follows Tencent’s investment of $ 1.3 billion in a new Ubisoft device and a 10% share in K-POP Label SM Entertainment.
The Chinese tech giant is also expanded in the blockchain room and announces earlier this year that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop a pack of blockchain API services with ankr.
Read more: S. Korean game giant Nexon to use polygon for the popular Maplestory Universe
