
Sony weighs bid for Hong Kong-listed gaming firm Leyou, paving way for intensified bidding war
- In May, Leyou confirmed it had received a non-binding takeover offer from Shenzhen-listed rival Zhejiang Century Huatong Group
- It has also had buyout talks with other bidders including iDreamSky Technology Holdings, which counts Tencent among its investors
Shares of Leyou extended their gains to as much as 9.8 per cent after the Bloomberg News report. The stock has risen about 20 per cent this year, giving the company a market value of about US$1.1 billion.
Sony is hoping that it can edge out other bidders with greater certainty of financing, the people said. Leyou’s Yuk aims to choose a buyer and sign an agreement as soon as this month, the people said.
Hong Kong video games firm Leyou Technologies gets a new buyout offer
Talks are still ongoing and no final decision has been made, the people said. Other bidders could still emerge, they said. Representatives for Leyou and Sony declined to comment.
Sony has recently been aiming to beef up its content arsenal as the tech giant’s chief executive officer Kenichiro Yoshida believes that would in turn strengthen the value of its branded consumer electronics hardware. That includes PlayStation 5, the new video game console that the company plans to launch at the end of this year.
Leyou’s Warframe is already available on PlayStation 4 and the company has said in its latest earnings report that it plans to expand the game to more platforms including the next-generation consoles.
