Kim Jung-joo, did you want too much? Delay the main bid for NXC sale again.
Industry's "sell prices are too high" and some say "may never happen"
The main bidding schedule for Nexon's sale has been delayed again. According to the game industry on May 15, the main bidding for the sale of Nexon's holding company NXC, which was scheduled for the same day, has been postponed until the 24th.
UBS, Deutsche Securities and Morgan Stanley, the lead managers for the sale, notified the prospective buyers that they were delaying the main bidding schedule.
Previously selected as eligible candidates for the acquisition are Kakao, Chinese game company Tencent and local private equity fund MBK Partners.
This is Nexon's second postponement of the sale's main bid. It has already been delayed from the middle of last month to May 15.
Recently, there have been rumors that CEO Kim Jung-ju offered Disney in the U.S to buy the company directly and was rejected, and the race to acquire Nexon has become increasingly unpredictable.
Industries are pointing to high selling prices as reasons for the delay in the sale. NXC CEO Kim initially hoped for the sale price of 15 trillion to 20 trillion won, but analysts say the candidates for the acquisition failed to meet the expectations.
"There will be no buyers who want to buy NXC shares at the price that Kim is trying to sell," a source from the game industry told the JoongAng Ilbo. "The difference between the price that he wants to sell and the price that the buyers think was too big. Investors want to buy the shares after M&A and resell them to realize profits. But the market watchers believe that Nexon's ability to generate sales cannot make such a profit."
Some point out that the postponement of the main bidding was due to Nexon's poor performance. There is no "Cash Cow" other than Nexon's flagship game "Dungeon & Fighter."
Some observers say Nexon will sell only its game division in the future to lower the acquisition price, as such high acquisition prices pose a stumbling block to the sale.