South Korean online game developer Nexon announced on Tuesday that it plans to invest $1.5 billion in other listed entertainment companies.
The investment is “a good use of Nexon’s cash in a market defined by low interest rates,” Owen Mahoney, the chief executive officer of Nexon, said in a“The global entertainment industry is experiencing a profound secular shift from linear to interactive entertainment. We’re looking for companies that share Nexon’s vision for creating and sustaining strong intellectual properties across multiple markets, in multiple formats for long periods of time,” he added.
The deal comes amid an uncertain business environment due to the coronavirus crisis, with many companies across industries pulling back on investments. But Nexon has been riding on a wave of increasing demand for online entertainment in a time of social distancing and quarantines. The company also in its first quarter earnings report that it “has been spared the turbulence [of the Covid-19 crisis] due to minimal physical contact with consumers.”