Qihoo 360 Sells Stake in Game Developer 360 Youjiu
Tencent Tech, 10/31/13
Beijing-based gaming portal operator and game developer 360 Youjiu (uuu9.com) announced today that the company has changed its name to Youjiu Shidai (Beijing) Technology, and that the company will undergo strategic restructuring. 360 Youjiu was formed as a joint venture between Chinese internet services and security software provider Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) and online gaming portal operator Shaanxi Youjiu. According to an internal source, the Youjiu Shidai management team has acquired all of Qihoo 360's 80% stake in the company.
Qihoo 360 is now reportedly looking to acquire Beijing-based Zhizhu, operator of online gaming information portal 178.com, according to an industry insider. Zhizhu has previously received investment from Beijing-based online game developer and operator Perfect World (Nasdaq: PWRD). Zhizhu Founder and CEO Miao Xinyu announced his resignation from the company yesterday.
Upon restructuring, Youjiu Shidai will primarily focus on mobile gaming, and will also strengthen its operations in PC gaming, including client-based and browser-based games.
A spokesperson from the marketing division of Youjiu Shidai has confirmed that Youjiu Shidai has management has taken a "majority share" in the company, disclosing that the decision by Qihoo 360 CEO Zhou Hongyi not to pursue game development and solely pursue game operation had stifled the company, spurring Youjiu Shidai's management team to buy back Qihoo 360's controlling stake in the firm. In August, Youjiu Shidai was engaged in mainland China operations for DOTA-themed mobile real-time strategy game Dota Baby, developed by South Korean developer APD, but ran into numerous difficulties distributing the game because of Qihoo 360's poor relationship with several mobile app platform operators.
Keywords: Youjiu Shidai 178.com mobile gaming online gaming Zhizhu Miao Xinyu Zhou Hongyi Uuu9 Qihoo 360 QIHU 360 Youjiu Dota Baby M&A
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