Razer, the gaming brand, announced news on Monday (April 23) of a deal to acquire MOL Global via an acquisition of approximately 65.1 percent of MOL Global’s issued shares for $61 million. Upon completion of the merger, MOL Global will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Razer, the company said in a press release.
Razer said it has already obtained approval for the deal from a majority of shareholders. That, along with the 34.9 percent stake Razer owns, will be enough for the merger to go through.
“This acquisition will combine Razer’s zGold and MOL Global’s MOLPoints virtual credits, creating one of the largest virtual credits platforms for gamers in the world,” said Min-Liang Tan, co-founder and CEO of Razer, in the press release. “Southeast Asia represents one of the highest GDP growth regions with one of the youngest demographics in the world. Additionally, given that MOL Global already runs one of the largest ePayments networks in Southeast Asia, the integration of MOL Global’s businesses represents an exciting new business segment with boundless potential that Razer can extend into. Over and above, we will be able to leverage on MOL Global’s leading technologies, as well as its massive network of content, customers and partners built over 17 years and extend our existing businesses by capturing the fast-growing Southeast Asia region for Razer.”
According to Razer, given the low-credit card usage rate in Southeast Asia, MOL Global’s offline-to-online payment model, which includes 1 million offline payment points, is already the biggest virtual credits platform for gamers in Southeast Asia. That has enabled Sony PlayStation Store SEA, Facebook Gameroom, Nexon and Wargaming to monetize games and digital content in the region.
Razer said that, upon the completion of the deal, Razer’s zGold virtual credits business will be combined with MOL Global’s MOLPoints virtual credits business, creating one of the world’s largest virtual credits platforms for gamers under a single entity. Razer said it will “significantly accelerate and scale up” the services business at the company.