Nexon Founder Rumored to be Ready to Sell Controlling Stock Worth $9B

According to Reuters.com, Nexon founder Kim Jung-ju is ready to unload his controlling block of stock in the company worth approximately nearly $9B USD. Jung-ju owns 98.6% of the available stocks, essentially putting the company up for sale. The report came via the Korea Economic Daily with unconfirmed "inside sources" providing the information. However, and as a result, the value of Nexon shares on the Tokyo stock market rose nearly 30% in some cases.

Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley are in line to take on management of the sale. Potential rivals in the industry may be looking to snap up some or all of the available stocks if and when the transaction is complete. Potential buyers include Tencent, Kakao Games, NetEase and Netmarble with even Electronic Arts named by the report as a possible suitor.

“As the value of the company’s stake will be enormous, there will be very limited buyers with the ability to purchase Nexon,” said Oh Dong-hwan, an analyst at Samsung Securities.

This is a developing story. We'll be keeping close tabs on it.

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