Back in 2012, Nexon became NCsoft’s biggest shareholder in an unlikely alliance between South Korea’s 2 biggest gaming companies (Nexon is actually stocklisted on Tokyo Stock Exchange). Today, after 3 years of power struggle and failed working relationship, Nexon has sold all of its shares in NCsoft. The reason given was “no significant synergies have been realized between the two parties”.
The 2 companies’ founders were apparently from the same school many years ago, and supposedly maintain a friendly relationship privately. The partnership formed when foreign companies such as Blizzard Entertainment and Riot Games set up shop in South Korea and started taking huge chunks of the lucrative online gaming market. This sale of shares mark the end of this wretched alliance.
