Japanese mobile developer enters into agreement to reacquire shares as owner reportedly looks to reduce debt

Puzzle & Dragons studio GungHo to regain majority stake from SoftBank for $685m

MCV Staff 7th June 2016 Development News

GungHo, the creator of mobile hit Puzzle & Dragons, looks set to buy back the majority of its own shares from owner SoftBank.

According to documents released by SoftBank, the two companies have entered into an agreement under which GungHo will buy back 23.47 per cent of its shares at 294 yen ($2.74) each – equating to a total of approximately $685 million to regain control.

SoftBank tool control of GungHo back in 2013, paying 25 billion yen ($265m) to claim just shy of 60 per cent of the company.

The sale is suspected to be part of a move by SoftBank to significantly slash its debt, which was reported as being around 11.9 trillion yen ($107bn) at the close of March.

The company was also recently rumoured to be considering a sale of its majority stake in Clash of Clans developer Supercell to Riot Games owner Tencent.

Tags

About MCV Staff

Check Also

games [Industry news] Games for Change and Tencent Games expand Raising Good Gamers with new programme to help families navigate positive play in video games

[Industry news] Games for Change and Tencent Games expand Raising Good Gamers with new programme to help families navigate positive play in video games

Games for Change, in partnership with Tencent Games, today announced the launch of a new programme that builds on the Raising Good Gamers initiative, designed to help families engage more confidently with the role video games play in young people’s lives. With 3.3 billion people playing video games worldwide, video gaming is now a central part of everyday life - reinforcing the need for more informed, evidence‑based and balanced dialogue around play.

© Copyright 2026, MCV. BizMedia