IP E-Games-Level UP! merger creates largest gaming publishing business in PH
MANILA, Philippines–IP E-Game Ventures Inc. (E-Games) and Level Up! Inc. (LUI) have completed the merger of their Philippine online game publishing operations, creating the largest business of its kind in the country with over 37 million registered users and over five million active users per month.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, the publicly listed E-Games announced the completion of its transfer of select game titles and assets to LUI. In exchange, it will receive an equity stake in LUI and a cash consideration.
With this merger, E-Games will jointly own LUI with Tencent and MIH group. Tencent is China’s leading internet services provider Tencent while MIH is a unit of Naspers Ltd., the holding company that owns Multiply.com, Sulit.com.ph and some other online companies.
The transaction had been unanimously approved by the stockholders of E-Games – a unit of IP Ventures led by technology entrepreneur Enrique Gonzales- during the special stockholders meeting held on March 22. As part of the transaction, the company’s board had also approved the subscription of E-Games to shares in LUI.
Among the popular games from the merging units include: RAN Online, CABAL Online, Ragnarok Online, ROHAN Online, Grand Chase Online and the newly launched Bounty Hounds Online.
“The transaction is expected to transform the landscape of the Philippine online gaming industry. Both parties anticipate that the transaction will generate improved earnings for the combined business in the short and long term,” E-Games said.
Meanwhile, E-Games also announced that its subsidiary, X-Play Online Games, Inc. (X-Play), would remain its game publishing arm and would be focused on sport genre games and Triple A games from leading developers. E-Games said it was expecting X-Play to “generate significant traction upon launch of those titles.”
X-Play as a publishing arm will focus on Blizzard and Take-2 Titles (Nba ol and NBA SNS). X-play has also secured partnership with NBA.com to host and operate the site for the Philippine market.
