This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 3:41 p.m. on Feb. 4, 2026.
Kakao, the largest shareholder of Kakao Games, and China's Tencent ended a shareholders' agreement signed eight years ago, dissolving their joint holding relationship. As before, Kakao no longer needs to bundle Tencent equity when selling Kakao Games equity. The industry says Kakao may be moving to tidy up ahead of a potential sale of control.
According to investment banks (IB) and the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 4th, Kakao terminated a tag-along agreement signed with Tencent subsidiary ACEVILLE PTE. LTD. In 2018, Kakao entered into a shareholders' agreement with Tencent granting the right, if a sale of Kakao Games equity accompanied by a change in control occurred, for Tencent to sell its held equity on the same terms. ACEVILLE is the third-largest shareholder with 3,218,320 shares (3.88%) of Kakao Games equity.
The industry views the termination as a move to improve conditions for a sale of Kakao Games. If the existing deal had remained in place, exercising the tag-along right could have forced a buyer to acquire not only Kakao equity but also Tencent equity, adding burden. When a control premium is attached, acquisition expense can rise significantly, making the clause a constraint for both buyers and sellers.
Kakao Games, facing continued weak results, has been pushing to streamline by shedding noncore assets. In 2024, it sold part of its stake in Sena Technologies to Keystone Partners, and last year it unwound its positions in Neptune and its golf business subsidiary Kakao VX, continuing portfolio adjustments. The industry interprets this as paving the way to leave open the possibility of selling the core entity, Kakao Games, after disposing of noncore assets.
In fact, recent reports said Line Games has been reviewing an acquisition of Kakao Games. Line Games also reviewed the possibility two years ago but halted talks due to a price gap and its own initial public offering (IPO) plans.
As a result, Kakao's termination of the shareholders' agreement with Tencent appears to have removed an obstacle to selling control. Some also suggest that a prospective buyer reviewing a Kakao Games acquisition may have required the termination of Tencent's tag-along right as a condition precedent.