Baofeng Technologies said on Monday that it would acquire the shares and staff of television production company Straw Bear, online games developer Lidongkeji and overseas games publisher GumpTech, with an offer of RMB 3.1 billion (USD 476 million).
According to a statement by Baofeng, the company would purchase 60% of Straw Bear’s shares with RMB 1.1 billion, 100% of GumpTech’s shares with RMB 1.1 billion, and 100% of Lidongkeji’s shares with RMB 975 million in the form of shares issuance and cash payments. It would also raise a RMB three billion supporting fund to upgrade its data technology (DT)-based entertainment platform, and construct the infrastructure for a DT-based big data system.
Straw Bear was founded by Chinese singer and actor Nicky Wu in Jiangsu province in June 2014. Its main businesses include movie and television investment and production. The company will provide Baofeng with IP resources in movies and television.
GumpTech was founded in late 2012. Its main businesses include games publication and promotion in markets including Southeast Asia, South Korea and Taiwan. The company has helped with the overseas publication of a mobile game by NetEase.
Lidongkeji is focused on the development, publication and operation of online games, including client games, mobile games and virtual reality (VR). The company’s independent game platform U7U7 has over 54 million registered users, according to its official data.
Baofeng came up with its DT-based global entertainment strategy in May 2015. It expanded its business into VR, television manufacturing, a livestreaming entertainment platform and an online content portal all in 2015. This acquisition represents the company’s expansion strategy in the games industry.
