Reuters reported that TikTok owner ByteDance is in talks to sell Mobile Legends: Bang Bang maker Moonton Games to Savvy Games Group for $6 billion to $7 billion.
Sources told Reuters that the deal could close by the end of this quarter. The companies have reached an initial agreement on broad terms of the deal, the news service said.
We’ve asked Savvy Games Group and Moonton for comment. Savvy declined to comment. If the deal happens, it will be Savvy’s biggest deal to date, exceeding the $4.9 billion purchase of Scopely, the maker of Monopoly Go, back in 2023.
Games and esports company Savvy Games Group is owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (“PIF”), and it’s part of the kingdom’s effort to move into digital businesses and diversify its economy beyond oil wealth.
Established in 2014, Moonton Games is a global video game company dedicated to gaming development, publication, and esports. It has more than 2,000 employees worldwide, with operations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Latin America, and China.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is its current star game with more than 1.5 billion downloads. It’s a mobile multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game worldwide.
Savvy Games Group was formed with a mission to drive long-term growth and
innovation in the games and esports industry. Savvy deploys capital over long-term horizons through acquisitions, investments, and business ventures.
Savvy is also focused on developing the sector’s domestic ecosystem for games in Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s fastest-growing markets for games.
ByteDance made news recently by launching its AI tool Seedance 2.0, enabling users to create realistic videos based on text prompts. But copyright holders have alleged that copyrighted materials are evidently being used as source material for viral videos, raising intellectual property concerns. ByteDance said it will strengthen safeguards on AI.
The tool, Seedance 2.0, enables users to create realistic videos based on text prompts. However, viral videos shared online appear to show copyrighted characters and celebrity likenesses, raising intellectual property concerns in the U.S.