BEIJING: TikTok owner ByteDance will sell its gaming studio Moonton to a Saudi-owned group for more than $6 billion, the firms and a person close to the matter said Friday, as the tech giant sharpens its focus on AI.
The Beijing-based company is undergoing a broad restructuring aimed at shifting resources into its rapidly expanding artificial intelligence operations, a sector drawing heavy investment from Chinese tech majors.
A person with knowledge of the negotiations between ByteDance and the Saudi-owned Savvy Games Group told AFP on condition of anonymity that the sides had "signed an agreement for Savvy to acquire Moonton...for a purchase price of more than $6 billion".
In an internal letter seen by AFP, Moonton chief executive Zhang Yunfan said the studio would "become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Savvy" once the deal closes and that its management would remain in place.
"This transaction has been thoroughly deliberated and discussed," he said.
"We are proud of Moonton's impressive growth into a leading mobile gaming player in Southeast Asia. This transaction marks a natural next step in its journey," a ByteDance spokesperson told AFP.
Founded in 2014 and based in Shanghai, Moonton developed several titles including the hit multiplayer mobile game "Mobile Legends: Bang Bang", which boasts more than 110 million monthly players and is especially popular in Southeast Asia.
Savvy Games Group is part of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which has poured billions into gaming and e-Sports as the kingdom seeks to diversify its economy.
ByteDance entered gaming in 2018 and acquired Moonton for $4 billion three years later to widen its portfolio.
The company has invested heavily in AI and operates one of the largest AI research teams among Chinese tech firms.
In February, it launched Seedance 2.0, a video generator that stunned the industry with its ability to produce Hollywood-quality clips from simple text prompts.