NCsoft founder sells shares, reducing stake in own firm

Game developer NCsoft founder and CEO Kim Taek-jin sold 1,264 shares he has in his company. As a result, Kim’s stake dropped from 10.34 percent to 10.33 percent. A year ago Kim surprised the game industry when he sold the 14.7 percent stake he had in NCsoft to his rival, Nexon, at 250,000 won ($216.50) per share. With the additional stake, Nexon became the majority shareholder of NCsoft, while Kim became the second-largest shareholder.

The two companies have been competing for the top spot for a decade or so.

There have been various rumors surrounding the stake sale but Kim as well as Nexon only mentioned that the two companies joined hands to increase synergy. While Nexon has a wider audience and overseas network, NCsoft’s revenues have been heavily concentrated in the Korean market.

The two are collaborating on several games, including Mabinogi 2.