Sina and Weibo reportedly in talks to buy stake in Yoozoo Games
Deal would see Chinese consortium take at least 18% of Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming developer
Sina Corp is looking to expand its presence in gaming, as Reuters is reporting that a consortium led by the Chinese online giant is in talks to purchase a stake in Yoozoo Games.
According to the report, Sina Corp, its spun out social network Weibo Corp, and a Shanghai statement investment firm are in discussions to acquire at least 18% of the Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming developer.
Last week, the market value of that stake totalled about $447 million.
Yoozoo Games founder Lin Qi died of poisoning in December, and held a 24% stake in the company at the time. Reuters' sources say that in addition to the deal expected to come in the next few weeks, the consortium intends to buy the remainder of that 24% stake from Lin's inheritors in the following months.
In addition to the Game of Thrones title, Yoozoo also runs the League of Angels series of games and has helped bring foreign-developed games like Brawl Stars into China. The company also has ambitions to move into TV and film, securing worldwide rights for adaptations of the sci-fi novel The Three-Body Problem.