Alibaba to sell Lingxi Games in over $2 billion deal, source says

Published Aug 17, 06:28 AM UTC

Alibaba Group is selling its game developer unit Lingxi Games to private equity firm Trustar Capital in a deal valued at more than $2 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter. An internal memo from Lingxi CEO Zhou Bingshu confirmed a formal agreement after several rounds of talks. Alibaba will transfer all of its Lingxi stake to Trustar, though the memo did not disclose the exact value or closing timeline. The sale is part of Alibaba's broader strategy to divest non-core assets and focus on artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Lingxi, based in Guangzhou, is best known for the multiplayer strategy game 'Three Kingdoms: Strategy Edition', developed with Japan's Koei Tecmo Holdings. The deal follows a period of transition for Lingxi, including a stalled fundraising effort in late 2023 and a management reshuffle in 2024. Zhou and the current management team will continue to lead the company post-sale.