Kakao Games, acquired by a special purpose company (SPC) funded by LY Corp., said there is no decision on a merger with Line Games.
Kakao Games held an extraordinary shareholders meeting on the 22nd at the Kakao AI Campus in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, to discuss appointing new inside directors.
On the day, Kakao Games passed an agenda to appoint Kim Tae-hwan, a vice president at Line Games, and Lee Si-woo, Kakao Games' chief business officer (CBO), as inside directors. New directors Kim and Lee are expected to take office as co-CEOs after a board review. However, neither appeared at the shareholders meeting. Kakao Games also decided to newly appoint Im Tae-seop, a professor at Sungkyunkwan University, as an outside director, and Seo Seok-ho, a managing director at Petrico Partners, as an additional non-executive director.
The Kakao Games Shareholders Alliance, a group of small shareholders, issued a statement that day calling for a specific shareholder return policy, the establishment of an official communication channel with the alliance, and an explanation regarding short selling and stock lending. It also said the company should disclose launch schedules for key upcoming titles including Odin Q, ArcheAge Chronicle, and Chrono Odyssey.
New CFO Shin Kwon-ho said in a Q&A after the shareholders meeting, We shared views with the new co-CEOs on enhancing shareholder value, adding, Treasury shares can be used to recruit strong outside talent, or they can be canceled to directly enhance shareholder value. Shin added, We plan to arrange a session soon where we can answer various questions.
The Q&A also touched on a possible merger between Kakao Games and Line Games that has been raised in the market. Shin, the new CFO who took office last week, said, Nothing has been decided regarding a merger, but as Kakao Games worked with SM Entertainment to create "SMinis," we can say there will be collaboration in business areas.
Shin added, Line Yahoo's Line platform is strong in Southeast Asia, and we assess that income levels in these regions have risen and their share in the mobile market has also grown significantly, saying, We will target new markets in a way similar to Kakao Games' past success.
Regarding roughly 300 billion won in funds secured through this merger and acquisition, Shin said, We judge that there has been significant financial improvement, and as new titles roll out, results will gradually improve.