ByteDance Sells 'Mobile Legends' Gaming Studio to Saudi Arabia in $6 Billion Deal
- Major Handover: ByteDance has officially agreed to sell its gaming studio, Moonton Technology, to a firm owned by the Saudi Arabian government.
- Valuation: While official numbers remain hidden, insider sources claim the acquisition values the creator of "Mobile Legends" at over $6 billion.
- Saudi Expansion: The buyer, Savvy Games Group, is heavily funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund to aggressively dominate the global e-sports market.
Chinese technology giant ByteDance has officially agreed to sell its highly successful gaming studio, Moonton Technology, to a company completely owned by the Saudi Arabia.
The parent co͏mpany of TikTok confirmed the somewhat major business move on Friday. ByteDance is handing over full control of Shanghai Moonton Technology; the famous development studio responsible for the massive hit mobile game "Mobile Legends: Bang Bang". The buyer it turns out, is a gaming firm based in Riyadh, and it is directly controlled by Saudi Arabia's powerful Public Investment Fund (PIF).
ByteDance refused to release the exact f͏inancial details of the final contract to the public, which is not that surprising.
However, individuals with direct knowledge of the negotiations have confirmed the deal values Moonton at more than $6 billion. This mas͏sive price tag aligns directly with earlier industry reports from February where, those early leaks revealed the two sides were locked in advanced talks for the final sale price landing somewhere between $6 billion and $7 billion, so nothing has changed there.
The specific buyer in Riyadh is Savvy Games Group.
This company, well, it serves as the main gaming and competitive e-sports division for the Saudi sovereign wealth fund. And this Middle Eastern nation is, at the moment, using its pretty massive oil wealth to buy up entertainment and technology assets across the globe at a fairly aggressive pace. Savvy Games Group says right out that its primary business model is about dominating the global gaming market through aggressive acquisitions along with strategic investments, and, of course, large commercial ventures.
The historic sale agreement; it was actually leaked to the public literally hours before the official confirmation came out. Japan's leading financial newspaper, which is the Nikkei, was actually the first media outlet that broke the news about the signed agreement early Friday morning.
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