Game Company Giant Network to Purchase 72.81% Equity of Mole’s World Developer

Shanghai-based game company Giant Network announced yesterday that on October 15, it signed a Letter of Intent for Investment with Dongzheng Ruibo (Shanghai) Investment Center, ready to acquire 72.81% of Taomee Entertainment directly or indirectly held by Dongzheng Ruibo or its affiliated companies in cash.

After preliminary discussions, the two parties agreed to value Taomee Entertainment at 1.5 billion yuan ($233 million), yet the transaction price will be determined by further negotiations after due diligence.

Taomee Entertainment is a home entertainment company, and its main business covers online games, film and television animation and brand licensing.

Taomee has developed and operated dozens of game products, such as the Mole’s World mobile game, which is independently developed by Taomee and operated by Leiting Games, as well as the web and mobile game of Space Energy Robots (SEER) and Flower Fairy, which are both independently developed and operated by Taomee.

The self-developed Mole’s World mobile game launched in June this year performed well, and ranks among the top three best-selling iOS games in China after its release. As of September 30, the cumulative number of registered users exceeded 30 million.

SEE ALSO: Mole’s World Mobile Game Tops China’s App Store, Appealing to Millennial and Gen Z Nostalgia

The main customer group of Taomee’s products is minors. For example, its top product Mole’s World is a virtual interactive community designed for children aged 6-14 in China, and SEER is a round-based competitive development game designed for minors.

Recently, China’s National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) issued a document to help effectively prevent minors from over-indulging in online games. All Taomee games have been connected to NPPA’s unified real-name authentication and anti-addiction system, while minor players and players without complete real-name information are subject to the restrictions for protecting minors.

Besides, minors are restricted in consumption. Taomee web shows that for Mole’s World, players under the age of 8 cannot recharge and pay, those aged between eight to 16 years old cannot spend more than 50 yuan each time, and no more than 200 yuan per month; those aged between 16 to 18 years old are banned to spend more than 100 yuan each time and 400 yuan every month.