Kakao to Bid for Game Giant Nexon

Published on 2019/02/03 | Source

Korea's leading messaging app operator Kakao is entering the bidding war for game developer Nexon.

Kakao said Tuesday that it has hired law firm Shin & Kim as an adviser in preparing for the bidding scheduled to begin in mid-February.

It will probably form a consortium to bid for NXC, Nexon's holding company, where it will be vying with hedge funds including KKR, Carlyle and MBK Partners as well as Chinese gaming giant Tencent.

Industry insiders believe Kakao is likely to join hands with a global hedge fund that has already expressed an interest in buying NXC or a Korean financial institution.

Nexon founder and CEO Kim Jung-ju announced on Jan. 4 that he is selling his entire 98.64-percent stake in NXC. The market cap of Nexon on the Tokyo Stock Exchange is currently around W10 trillion, and the sale is expected to fetch no less than W12 trillion (US$1=W1,119).