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Giant to go private for US$3b in step toward mobile games

By Zhu Shenshen | March 17, 2014, Monday | Online Edition

GIANT Investment Ltd has agreed to take the New York-listed online game firm Giant Interactive Group Inc private for a deal valued at US$3 billion.

The deal marks a step in the company’s business transformation towards mobile games, the Shanghai-based firm said today.

The buyers, including company founder and Chairman Shi Yuzhu and Baring Private Equity Asia Ltd, with 49.3 percent of Giant Interactive's shares, will pay US$12 a share for the remaining stakes, 18.5 percent higher than Giant Interactive's closing price in November, when Giant Investment made its initial offer.

It was still 5.3 percent higher than the closing price of US$11.4 on Friday. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of this year, Giant said in a statement.

The privatizing is believed to be related to the company's plan to expand into the mobile game business, which requires huge capital investments, analysts said.

The Chinese government's strict regulations and mature personal computer market have eroded profit margins of Chinese game firms like Giant and Nasdaq-listed Shanda Games, which announced in January it would go private in a deal of US$1.9 billion.

Instead, Giant has invested heavily in the mobile game sector in acquiring mobile game developers and recruiting talent.

The mobile game business is fueled by the popularity of smartphones in China, whose revenue jumped more than 30 percent in 2013, more than double the growth of the PC online game business.

China Minsheng Banking Corp, BNP Paribas SA and Credit Suisse Group AG have arranged a loan for the privatizing deal, according to Giant's statement.

BusinessIT


 

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