S.Korea to put $3.6 bn shares in gaming giant NXC on sale

The South Korean government said on Monday it will launch a tender offer to sell off a 29.3% stake, valued at around 4.7 trillion won ($3.6 billion), in Seoul-based game giant NXC Corp. from Dec. 18 to 19.

As NXC Corp.’s then-Chairman Kim Jung-ju died in February of last year, Kim’s two daughters came to inherit all his ownership in NXC, a 67.49% stake.

To pay the inheritance tax, the two daughters handed over a 29.3% stake in NXC as payment-in-kind to the Korean government in May of this year.

The 4.7 trillion won payment-in-kind is the largest-ever inheritance tax paid as securities to the Korean government.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance and state-owned Korea Asset Management Corp. (KAMCO) are planning to announce the winner of the bid on Dec. 22. If the bid fails, they will launch another tender offer round Dec. 25-26.

NXC owns a 46% stake in Tokyo-listed game developer and publisher Nexon Co., which fully controls its Korean entity Nexon Korea Corp. NXC posted 68.4 billion won in revenue and 57 billion won in operating profit last year.

The late chairman’s wife Yoo Jung-hyun owns 34% of NXC, while each of their two daughters holds 16.81%. Wisekids LLC, a Seoul-based toy manufacturer in which each daughter owns 50%, has a 1.72% stake in NXC.

Write to Kyung-Min Kang at kkm1026@hankyung.com

Jihyun Kim edited this article.