The main players in the country’s multibillion online gaming industry – e-Games and Level-Up Inc. – have reached an agreement to merge their online game publishing businesses, the companies said in a statement on February 14.
E-Games, a unit of technology conglomerate IPVG, has battled PLDT-owned Level-Up for supremacy in the highly competitive gaming sector in recent years. E-Games vaulted to popularity by offering free-to-play games, while Level-Up is associated with the pioneering game Ragnarok Online.
In accordance with the agreement, most of E-Game’s titles and assets relating to its game publishing business will be transferred and merged into Level-Up’s associated online game publishing company, Playweb Games Inc.
In exchange, E-Games will receive equity in Level-Up, a commercial interest in Playweb Games, and an undisclosed cash consideration. The completion of the deal is subject to closing conditions, the statement said.
E-Games and Level-Up, as a merged entity, are expected to account for the majority of the Philippine online games market, the statement noted.
“The merged entity and its associated company, Playweb Games Inc., will have the widest gaming pre-paid cards and PINs distribution network and offer a portfolio of hugely popular and successful games between them,” it added.
The combined games include Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) such as Cabal, Audition, Pointblank, Ragnarok, Grand Chase, Rohan and newly launched (by Level-Up) Bounty Hounds.
The merger is expected to strategically benefit both companies as a result of future operational synergies and savings, the statement said.
E-Games, which will maintain its brand, is the first listed online gaming company in the Philippines. Through RAN Online, it spearheaded the free-to-play game model and has about 16 million registered gamers and an average of 3.5 million active users per month.
Recently, it has aggressively expanded its Internet café network through acquisitions (Netopia and CyBr cafes). It ahs also acquired the rights to operate and sell advertisements for the NBA.com Philippine portal.
“It is currently developing game enhancement technologies between its Internet cafes and online games titles and is eager to extend these synergies with LUI online games,” the company said.
Level-Up, meanwhile, pioneered the online game business in the Philippines. Its parent company, Level Up International Holdings (LUIH), has a subsidiary in Brazil which likewise pioneered and leads the online game publishing business there.
Aside from its presence in the Philippines and Brazil, LUIH also has a joint venture in the United States with an established Korean developer.
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Newsbytes Philippines | Cutting Edge, No Holds Barred Philippine I.T. News
Level-Up, e-Games in blockbuster merger
Originally Posted by risklight
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