Our days of playing the fun “who’s buying Nexon this week” game are quickly coming to a middle as apparently the auction has finally come and gone. After months of speculation on who exactly would be allowed to bid and rumors that everyone from Disney to Tencent was champing at the bit to scoop up Nexon by buying out its founding family’s controlling stake in the company – worth around $11B (a hefty chunk more than the $9B previously reported).
According to GIbiz, both Kakao and Netmarble submitted bids in a round that closed Friday, along with private equity firms KKR & Co., Bain Capital, and MBK Partners. Tencent did not bid, despite rumors to the contrary earlier, though it already owns sizable shares in Kakao and Netmarble anyway. It is not clear precisely when company reps will make the final decision.