Comcast reportedly strives to take over Nexon, a Korean game publisher. Courtesy of Comcast
Comcast Corporation, the No. 2 broadcasting and cable TV company in the world, keeps an eye on Korea to find new revenue sources.

The Philadelphia-based cable giant reportedly took part in the heated competition to acquire Nexon, a highly successful and profitable Korean game publisher.

Along with Amazon and Electronic Arts, Comcast also submitted bids late February 2019 to snap up Nexon, which is famous for such legendary games as “KartRider,” “MapleStory,” and “Dungeon & Fighter.” Neither Nexon nor Comcast verify the news reports, though.

Currently, three Asian IT giants of Tencent, Netmarble and Kakao as well as private equity funds like MBK Partners are eagle to take over Nexon, which chalked up more than $2.2 billion in sales in 2018 for net profit of some $1 billion.

The company was founded in 1994 based in Seoul. In 2005, it moved its head office to Tokyo but is widely regarded as being a Korean firm.

Joint venture with Korean mobile giant

SK Telecom CEO Park Jung-Ho, left, grabs hands of Comcast Spectacor President of Spectacor Gaming, Tucker Roberts, at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona upon the announcement of "T1 Entertainment & Sports," a global e-sports joint venture on Feb. 24, 2019. Courtesy of Comcast

This is not the first time that Comcast shows its interests in Korean businesses.

Late last month, Comcast Spectacor reached a deal to form a global e-sports joint venture with SK Telecom, Korea’s foremost mobile operator.

On the sidelines of the 2019 World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, the two entities agreed to create a new entity, named T1 Entertainment & Sports, to include top players in League of Legends and other games.

Comcast Spectacor is a professional sports and live entertainment company, which is part of Comcast Corporation. It owns and operates sports and game teams such as the National Hockey League’s Philadelphia Flyers.

Back then, Camcast Spectator’s Spectacor Gaming division President Tucker Robers expressed big hopes on the partnership.

“This joint venture marks a significant step for Comcast Spectacor’s esports business as we expand globally and join forces with the most successful League of Legends team in history,” he said.

“We’re excited to form a premier esports organization with SK Telecom and grow our businesses in new directions.”

 

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