Razer Makes Bid To Acquire Malaysian E-payments Firm

Razer has made a bid to fully acquire Malaysian e-payments vendor, MOL Global, for an estimated US$61 million and merge both companies' virtual currency platforms.

The game accessories maker currently owned a 34.9 percent stake in MOL and, subject to the approval of the latter's shareholders, would buy out the remaining 65.1 percent shares. Razer said in a statement Monday that it already secured "irrevocable undertakings" from other major shareholders to vote in favour of the merger.

Once completed, the acquisition would see MOL become a wholly-owned subsidiary under Razer.

Co-founder and CEO Tan Min-Liang said: "This acquisition will combine Razer's zGold and MOL's MOLPoints virtual credits, creating one of the largest virtual credits platforms for gamers in the world.

"Southeast Asia represents one of the highest GDP growth regions, with one of the youngest demographics in the world. Additionally, given that MOL already runs one of the largest e-payments networks in Southeast Asia, the integration of MOL's businesses represents an exciting new business segment with boundless potential that Razer can extend into," Tan said.

MOL currently operated some 1 million offline payment points, the company said, enabling gamers to purchase credits at physical outlets and used these to acquire virtual items in games, including those in Sony PlayStation Store, Facebook Gameroom, and Nexon.

MOL also offered an e-payment platform used by various online retailers in the region, such as Lazada and Grab, and that processed more than US$1.1 billion worth of transactions last year.

Razer said the acquisition would pave its entry into the e-payments market.