Kakao cited as potential buyer of popular game developer Nexon

By Lim Chang-won Posted : January 30, 2019, 09:27 Updated : January 30, 2019, 09:27
 

[Courtesy of Kakao]


SEOUL -- Kakao, a major web service company involved in a variety of technology-related businesses in South Korea, has emerged as a potential buyer of NXC, the holding company of Nexon which published Dungeon Fighter Online (DF), a popular multiplayer PC video game.

Kakao said that it has been in the process of internal review to participate in the race for Nexon. Other potential buyers cited in the domestic market included China's Tencent Holdings and private equity funds like LLR, MBK Partners and Carlyle.

Nexon founder Kim Jung-ju and his wife have put their entire stake in NXC up for sale. Kim, who pioneered South Korea's online game industry, owns 67.49 percent in NXC and his wife 29.43 percent. Kim also has 1.72 percent in NXC through his private company. He did not say why he was taking his hands off the lucrative enterprise. 

NXC controls 47.98 percent in Nexon listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange and 100 percent in its South Korean branch. The market value of Nexon, founded by Kim in 1994, is estimated at some 13 trillion won ($1.15 billion). NXC has stakes in other companies including Stokke, a Norwegian manufacturer of children's furniture and accessories, and BrickLink, the online marketplace for LEGO parts, Minifigs and sets, as well as two cryptocurrency exchanges -- Korbit and Bitstamp.


 
기사 이미지 확대 보기
닫기