Jagex negotiating acquisition with Chinese mining company
"It remains very much business as usual for the company"
UK developer Jagex has responded to reports that it is about to be acquired by a Chinese mining company (yes, you read that correctly) confirming that talks are underway.
"Jagex has entered into a non-exclusive, non-binding arrangement for a potential acquisition. The negotiations surrounding the acquisition are ongoing and it remains very much business as usual for the company," Jagex told Eurogamer.
The mining company in question is Shandong Hongda Mining Co Ltd, which mainly produces iron powder, copper powder and iron ore for the domestic market. Some Chinese mining companies have recently fallen foul of new pollution reduction policies in China, so perhaps Shandong Hongda Mining is ready to branch out to new areas of investment.
Reports of the acquisition originally came from the Financial Times and Deal Street Asia which valued the transaction at $300 million.
Jagex also posted the following message to players regarding the deal on its forums:
As you may have seen through online news articles, Jagex is getting noticed. The company is getting attention from the east and the biggest market in the world, China, is knocking on our door. Jagex's shareholders have received offers of interest and have responded positively to an approach from a Chinese company.
Jagex is in early stage discussions with the firm in question, but we must stress that they may - or may not - materialise into anything. However, should they come to fruition, it would potentially allow us access to the Asian marketplace to a high level.
What does this mean for the plans we have for our games and our fantastic community? Put simply, our plans, including the launch of NXT, Zeah, Chronicle: RuneScape Legends, God Wars Dungeon 2, and RuneScape: Idle Adventures, remain on track. It is business as usual across Gielinor!