Synopsis
ByteDance has agreed to sell Moonton to Savvy Games Group for about $6 billion, shifting its focus to generative AI. The Beijing company will keep Moonton’s management and offer staff incentives. Savvy, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s $1 trillion Public Investment Fund, is central to the kingdom’s aggressive push to become a global leader in video games and esports.The Beijing-based company signed an agreement with the Saudi-backed firm, with the transaction to be finalised in the near future, Moonton chief executive officer Zhang Yunfan said in an internal memo reviewed by Bloomberg News. Zhang and his management team will remain in place, while employees will be offered a range of incentive programs, he wrote.
The memo didn’t disclose terms. The deal values the studio at about $6 billion, a person familiar with the matter said, asking for anonymity to discuss private details. That’s up sharply from the $4 billion ByteDance paid for the business in 2021.
Savvy, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s $1 trillion Public Investment Fund, is central to the kingdom’s aggressive push to become a global leader in video games and esports. Moonton specialises in multiplayer mobile games that are particularly popular in Southeast Asia, including Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, which has been installed more than 1.5 billion times.
In September, video game giant Electronic Arts Inc. agreed to sell itself to a group of investors that included PIF, in the largest leveraged buyout in history. A Savvy subsidiary also agreed to buy Niantic Inc.’s Pokémon Go last year, spending $3.5 billion on the firm’s gaming business.
The sovereign wealth fund also holds a stake in Nintendo Co.
TikTok owner ByteDance has been cutting back on its gaming assets, slashing jobs and winding down its flagship Nuverse gaming brand in past years after the company failed to grab market share from Tencent Holdings Ltd. It’s competing with Chinese big tech rivals and AI aspirants in developing foundational models and chatbots.
