FILE PHOTO: Razer products are displayed at a news conference ahead of its IPO in Hong Kong, China October 31, 2017.REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK AHEAD
Razer is set to wholly acquire MOL Global to create a virtual credits platform for gamers, as part of its push into the South-East Asian market.
In a press statement, Razer announced it plans to acquire 65.1% of MOL Global’s issued share capital for approximately US$61mil (RM238.35mil)
While the proposed merger is subject to MOL Global shareholders’s approval, Razer has obtained irrevocable undertakings from other major shareholders to vote in favour of the merger. Razer’s currently owns a 34.9% stake in MOL Global.
Razer CEO and co-founder Min-Liang Tan said the goal was to create one of the largest virtual credits platforms for gamers, by combining Razer’s zGold and MOL Global’s MOLPoints virtual credits.
“Given that MOL Global already runs one of the largest e-payments networks in South-East Asia, the integration of MOL Global’s businesses represents an exciting new business segment with boundless potential that Razer can extend into,” he said.
In 2017, MOL Global’s e-payment network handled over US$1.1 bil (RM4.3bil) of total payment value.
He added that South-East Asia represents one of the highest GDP growth regions with one of the youngest demographics in the world, though the region also had low credit card penetration.
Tan said MOL Global’s offline-to-online model would help overcome the later issue.
He said it will accelerate and scale up the Services category within Razer’s gamer-focused ecosystem, allowing games and media companies to continue to further monetise their games and content worldwide on a singular platform that will benefit from the combined economies of scale.
This follows Razer’s announcement that it would be rolling out its digital game distribution platform to Southeast Asia.
The company is working together with online shopping platform Lazada, with the PC games sold on there to be delivered in the form of game keys activated on platforms such as Steam and Uplay.
The Razer Game Store opened first in Singapore, with plans to open in Malaysia and Thailand by the second quarter, and Indonesia and Philippines expected soon after.
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