NXC CEO Kim Jung-ju, who is the founder of Nexon, recently reportedly tapped the opinion of Walt Disney Company, a U.S. general entertainment company, to acquire Nexon.
According to the JoongAng Ilbo on April 16, Kim recently met with a high-ranking Disney official in person and proposed Disney to acquire the stake in NXC, which he and his wife, auditor Yoo Jeong-hyun, are holding. NXC is the holding company of Nexon Japan, which is listed on the Japanese stock market, and holds a 47.02 percent stake in Nexon Japan.
"As there has been little progress regarding the acquisition of the stake in NXC, it seems that Chairman Kim personally found a buyer and contacted him," said an official for an IB industry.
According to industry sources, it is heard that the hopeful selling price of Nexon Japan will be around 2,000 yen per share. Nexon Japan's closing price is 1,681 yen (17,050 won) on April 16. The company added a management premium to its share price. In this case, the NXC's stake acquisition amounts to 15 trillion won.
Meanwhile, some pointed out that game companies are too expensive. Considering the fact that Asiana Airlines will be sold at around 2 trillion won, though the industry is different, there won't be many large companies taking over the game company by spending 15 trillion won.
Currently, Nexon's in-house reserve amounts to about 2.46 trillion won, and its flagship game, Dungeon & Fighter, earns more than 3 trillion won a year in China alone.
Disney has recently launched an aggressive M&A campaign to foster the content industry by acquiring 21st Century Fox Entertainment for about 80 trillion won. This is why it is considered as a leading candidate for Nexon's big deal, which has a sale price of up to 15 trillion won.
In 2008, CEO Kim said that animation companies, including Walt Disney, had been showing interest in Nexon. Walt Disney was known to have shown great interest in the IP (Intelligent Property Rights) held by Nexon, including "The Kingdom of the Winds" and "Mabinogi."