Sony is thinking about bidding on Leyou Technologies LTD., which means that a bidding war is potentially inbound for the Hong Kong gaming firm, according to a new report by Bloomberg.
Apparently Sony is working with a financial adviser on a potential offer for Leyou. This comes after Leyou received a non-binding takeover offer in May from Zhejiang Century Huatong Group Co., along with other offers from other bidders.
The firm entered into a memorandum of understanding with iDreamsky at the end of 2019, where they would buy 69.21% of Leyou for 1.2 billion. This deal fell apart when the coronavirus hit, but iDreamsky remains involved in the bidding process for Leyou. Apparently the stock market likes the idea of companies fighting over Leyou, as its stock has risen 20 percent this year, which means that it's worth around US $1.1 billion.
What is Leyou Technologies?
Well, Leyou either owns companies (either in full or part) like Digital Extremes, the developer and publisher of games such as Dark Sector and Warframe, along with Splash Damage, developer of Gears Tactics, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, Brink and Dirty Bomb. They launched Athlon Games and created a partnership with Middle-earth Enterprises to make a Lord of the Rings F2P MMORPG with Amazon. Leyou will be publishing the game in China and Taiwan, with Amazon publishing elsewhere. They also own parts of Certain Affinity (with the option to own outright), who did work on the Modern Warfare remaster and Halo: Master Chief Collection, Radiance Software, and LCG Entertainment (who bought up the Telltale IP).
Talks are ongoing at the moment, so right now there is nothing firm. It could be a thing, but it also might not be a thing. We'll have to see.
Quick Take
This is an interesting story, even if it doesn't really look like it. There's a lot of potential in this deal, and a company like Splash Damage with AAA funding is an intriguing prospect. Even for the Lord of the Rings MMORPG there's a lot of potential in the deal if Sony were to become involved. I know for a fact that there are tons of people who are dying to have a remastered version (or even just a re-release) of Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, so I'll definitely be watching this play out.
What do you think of this news? Do you think Sony should buy a company like Leyou? Do you think Warframe would become a PS5 exclusive if Sony bought Leyou? Let us know in the comments!
