Shanda goes private with family buyout

Chinese MMO company Shanda Games is to go private, having been bought out by its parent company.

CEO and board member Tianqiao Chen, along with wife and non-executive director Qian Qian Chrissy Luo, and his brother and chief operating officer Danian Chen, are buying all shares in the company at $41.35 each - a 26.6 per cent premium on their closing price on October 17, when the deal was first proposed.

The three family members had previously held a 69 per cent majority stake in the business, and the deal will be funded by a $180 million dollar loan from Merrill Lynch and a cash contribution from the buying group.

Shanda Games operates a number of original and licensed titles in China, including MapleStory, Ragnarok Online, Dungeons and Dragons Online and Aion.

Profits for the last quarter were up 18.5 per cent to $53.9 million, with revenues at $212.9 million.