According to a report by Bloomberg, Sony Corporation is considering a bid for Hong Kong-based Leyou Technologies Holdings Ltd. – the parent company of Gears Tactics developer Splash Damage and Warframe developer Digital Extremes.
Bloomberg’s sources claim that Sony has enlisted the help of a financial advisor to consider a bid, intensifying the competition to acquire Leyou, which has a number of interested parties including rival Zhejiang Century Huatong Group Co. and iDreamSky Technology Holdings Ltd. Leyou’s controlling shareholder, Charles Yuk, has apparently been in talks with the latter since last year but Covid-19 seems to have stalled things. Chinese giant Tencent is one of iDreamSky’s investors.
Bloomberg further claimed that Yuk wants to strike a deal as soon as this month, and Sony is hoping that its financial stability will help elevate its position. Both Leyou and Sony have declined to comment on the report, but talks are reportedly ongoing.
Based in London, Splash Damage was purchased by Leyou in 2016. The studio is one of the developers behind titles like Wolfenstein, Brink, DOOM, Gears of War, Halo, and Batman: Arkham Origins. In addition to Splash Damage and Digital Extremes, Leyou owns California-based Athlon Games, which is currently working with Amazon on a video game based on The Lord of the Rings.
In October 2017, Leyou invested $10 million in Austin-based Certain Affinity – a studio founded by ex-Bungie employees. Certain Affinity has previously lent its talents to Left 4 Dead, Call of Duty, and Halo.
We’ll update our readers when we have more information.
[Source: Bloomberg]
