Overview
- The agreement was announced in an internal memo on Monday and transfers Alibaba’s entire stake in Lingxi to private equity firm Trustar Capital while Lingxi CEO Zhou Bingshu and the existing management team will remain in place.
- Reported valuations vary by outlet, with Bloomberg placing a floor at about $1.5 billion and Reuters and several others saying the sale will top $2 billion, but the memo did not disclose a final price or closing date.
- Alibaba framed the divestment as part of a broader plan to shed non-core units so it can redirect funds and leadership focus to AI and cloud infrastructure projects that the company has publicly prioritized.
- Lingxi operates roughly 1,200 staff across five internal studios and runs platforms including 9game, and it is best known for the mobile title Three Kingdoms: Strategy Edition developed with Koei Tecmo.
- The deal continues Alibaba’s recent pattern of selling assets to fund strategic bets, but it still lacks disclosed regulatory conditions, a timeline for completion, and clarity on any future commercial links between Alibaba and Lingxi.