Carlyle, FountainVest pull out of China Shanda Games take-private

Chinese online game developer Perfect World and Primavera Capital also exited the consortium, according to a statement issued by Shanda this week. A $850 million leveraged buyout loan was being raised from banks to back the buyout but the recent withdrawals now cast doubt on its future.

Fountainvest joined the Shanda consortium in April and Carlyle joined in May. Shanda said in its statement that an affiliate of Orient Securities, an affiliate of Haitong Securities, and Ningxia Zhongyincashmere International Group have joined the consortium as new members.

In a January, an affiliate of Primavera and Shanda Interactive Entertainment - which together hold a 76.2% stake in the business - had offered $6.90 per American depositary share to buy Shanda, valuing it at $1.9 billion.

Shanda Games spun out from parent Shanda Interactive in 2009 via an IPO that raised more than $1.04 billion. Its portfolio includes massively multiplayer online (MMO) and mobile games. Net revenues for the third quarter of 2013 were RMB1.12 billion ($182.9 million), up 3.3% year-on-year.

Shanda rival Giant Interactive Group was taken private by Baring Private Equity Asia, Hony Capital and CDH Investments in July in a deal that valued the game developer at approximately $2.9 billion.

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• Topics
• Consumer
• Greater China
• Buyouts
• Consumer
• China
• buyout
• The Carlyle Group
• Fountainvest Partners