Krafton’s chairman grants tag-along right to Tencent Chinese gaming giant is second largest shareholder in Korean game developer
Translated by Ryu Ho-joung 공개 2022-01-21 08:19:05
이 기사는 2022년 01월 21일 08:06 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.
Image Frame Investment, a subsidiary of Chinese gaming giant Tencent, has a tag-along right granted to it by Krafton chairman Chang Byung-gyu, according to industry sources.The Tencent subsidiary is the second largest shareholder of the South Korean game developer with a 13.27% stake, after Chang who owns 14.04% of the company. They entered into a tag-along agreement on August 9, 2021. Krafton went public on the Kospi on the following day.
Tag-along rights allow minority shareholders to take part in a sale of shares by the majority shareholder to a third party under the same terms and conditions.
Granting tag-along rights to minority shareholders is not typical in the gaming industry as this could signal investors that the largest shareholder can exit a company. Chang did previously exit firms he founded, such as internet community Neowiz and search engine First Snow.
Some observers say that securing tag-along rights could be part of Tencent’s exit strategy. The Chinese gaming company was also granted such a right by Kakao Corp, the largest shareholder of Kakao Games, in which it owns a 4.11% stake through its subsidiary Aceville Pte Ltd.
Netmarble’s top three shareholders – the gaming company’s chairman Bang Jun-hyuk (24.12%), CJ ENM (21.78%) and Tecent’s subsidiary Han River Investment Pte Ltd (17.52%) – also entered into a tag-along agreement. This means if Bang decides to offload his shares, a combined 63.41% stake in the company could be put up for sale.
This, however, was not the case for Kakao Corp, in which Tencent holds a roughly 6% stake through its subsidiary Maximo Pte Ltd. Maximo does not have a tag along right to sell its shares along with the shares held by Kakao Corp’s largest shareholder and chairman Kim Beom-su.
“Tencent has minority equity stakes in major South Korean gaming companies and publishes their titles in the Chinese market,” an industry insider said. “I think Tencent, as a minority shareholder, wanted to ensure an exit route by securing tag-along rights.” (Reporting by Choong-hee Won)
< 저작권자 ⓒ 자본시장 미디어 'thebell', 무단 전재, 재배포 및 AI학습 이용 금지 >
관련기사
best clicks
최신뉴스 in 전체기사
-
- '오스템임플란트 볼트온' MBK-UCK, 브라질 임플란트 3위 업체 인수
- '주주환원 강화' 케이카, 1분기 실적 주목
- 가보지 않은 길 'ARC' 셀비온-앱티스 맞손, 독성에 도전
- [여전사경영분석]BNK캐피탈, 순익 반등에도 수익성 제고 과제 여전히
- [은행경영분석]권재중 BNK금융 CFO 첫 성적표 'CET1 12%대' 진입
- 마이금융파트너, 신계약 성과에 2년째 매출 급증
- [여전사경영분석]문동권식 수익다변화 전략 적중…신한카드, 순익 회복 시동
- BNK캐피탈, 상임감사에 김상대 전 금감원 국장 선임
- [은행경영분석]우리은행, 기업금융 명가 재건 '중기 대출' 강화에 달렸다
- DGB금융, '대구은행장 후계자' 육성 작업 본격화