The rumors have been confirmed. ByteDance has indeed agreed to sell the Chinese gaming studio Moonton to Saudi Arabia's Savvy Games Group.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
In a letter to employees, Moonton's CEO Yunfan Zhang announced that the deal will be closed soon. While the top manager did not disclose all the terms of the agreement, he noted that he would continue to lead the studio, and other executives would also retain their positions. Moonton's headquarters will remain in Shanghai.
Additionally, Zhang mentioned that after the sale is completed, Moonton employees will receive accelerated bonus payments along with some other incentive bonuses, depending on their performance.
Zhang did not reveal how much Savvy Games Group ultimately agreed to pay for Moonton. However, according to Bloomberg's sources, the figure is $6 billion. This is significantly higher than what ByteDance initially paid for the studio, which was $4 billion.
The high valuation of the studio is likely due to the popularity of its flagship game — the mobile game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Analysts report that the game generates over $1 billion in revenue, and Moonton estimates its downloads at over 1.5 billion.
It is worth noting that the negotiations between ByteDance and Savvy Games Group came to light in November of last year. Rumor had it that ByteDance had been contemplating selling the creators of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang for some time but had difficulty finding a suitable buyer.