The Korean MMO giant Nexon (Maple Story) is for sale. Allegedly, the founder has high hopes for Disney and has contacted them to arrange a sale. It’s about more than 13 billion US dollars. But Disney has reportedly turned down the offer.
This company is the focus: Nexon is one of the largest MMO companies in the world. They are primarily active in Asia, serving the PC market and the mobile market with online games for many years.
One of Nexon’s most famous MMORPGs is Maple Story – in Korea, they also distribute titles like Final Fantasy XIV, Counter Strike Online, or Dungeon Fighter Online, the most lucrative PC game in the world.
The latest hit is the mobile game “Traha.”
Why is the company for sale? The CEO and founder of the company, Jung-ju Kim, and his wife control a large portion of the shares of Nexon. But apparently, Kim is tired and wants to retire from the business.
After a legal dispute, in which he was accused of corruption, he is now said to be planning the sale of all shares. This has been known for months.
Potential buyers include:
- Korean competitors such as Netmarble or Kakao, the publisher of Black Desert
- Western corporations like EA and Amazon
- as well as investors
- the Chinese giant Tencent is also said to be involved
But from all companies, there has only been the message for months: No comment.
What is the deal with Disney? As the Korean news site “The Central Times” reports (translation via Korean Herald), the head of Nexon has now personally contacted a senior Disney executive to discuss the sale of the shares.
As a source, “International Banking Industry” is cited.
The purchase price is around 13.2 billion US dollars. Further details are not known.
However, Kim Jung-ju had spoken positively about Disney in 2015. He said at that time:
“What I envy most about Disney is that they do not squeeze money out of children … customers pay happily for Disney. Nexon still has a long way to go to get there. Some people hate Nexon to death.”
What’s clear: Nexon is for sale and whoever acquires it will overnight become one of the biggest players in online gaming.
Who ultimately buys it seems to be open at the moment.
Disney reportedly has no interest
Update 4.5.: According to the latest reports from South Korea, Disney has rejected. They were indeed approached by the Nexon CEO. He wanted to offer them Nexon.
But Disney reportedly turned down Kim Jung-ju. They are not interested and have no intention of buying Nexon.
This is reported by a major South Korean daily newspaper (via comicbook.com).
