EA denies reported investment in The9
by Ross Miller 
{ Apr 10th 2007 at 3:59PM }
According to official newspaper Shanghai Securities News this weekend, Electronic Arts was said to have reached a deal with Chinese MMO provider The9 to purchase a 19% stake in the company for about US $200 million. The newspaper cites unnamed sources and say that the two companies had reached a basic agreement but makes no mention of whether or not the deal has been finalized.EA spokesman Jeff Brown has told Reuters that "there is no signed agreement with The9," while declining to elaborate further. However, having no signed agreement currently does not mean that the company is not in the process of working toward the outlined deal. Could the report be wrong or is EA playing coy? We'll just have to wait and see.
The9 has the rights to operate World of Warcraft, Guild Wars and Hellgate: London to China. The paper also reported a deal that would allow The9 to run EA's FIFA Online in China. Such an agreement has been rumored since EA named Hubert Larenaudie, with strong ties to The9, as president of EA Asia.
See also:
Joystiq interview: Hoyt Ma, The9
[Via WoW Insider]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Neal @ Apr 10th 2007 4:22PM
WoW sucks.
...ready for people to yell at me.
Hiroken @ Apr 10th 2007 4:33PM
No, no, you're right. WoW does suck.
FFXI ftw!
~
Buckshot @ Apr 10th 2007 5:40PM
Gold farmers will be proud! And yes, WOW sucks.
Judd @ Apr 10th 2007 6:53PM
"19% stake in the company for about US $200 million."
Wow that would make the entire company worth more than 1 billion.