Avengers directors Joe and Anthony Russo’s film company, ABGO, have sold a 38% stake in the company to Japanese gaming firm Nexon in a deal worth $400 million.
Nexon made the announcement on Wednesday, saying the deal will “accelerate the global expansion of Nexon’s existing and new franchise intellectual property in film and television and to further support AGBO’s development, production, and ownership of tent pole-led entertainment universes appealing to worldwide audiences.”
This will also include video games, Nexon said, though no specifics were announced. Under the terms of the deal, Nexon said it might put in a further $100 million in the first half of 2022 if ABGO requests it.
“AGBO is driven by creatives who aspire to work at the universe scale,” Joe and Anthony Russo said in a statement. “AGBO’s partnership with Nexon represents a significant juncture for entertainment, furthering the convergence of franchise filmmaking and games with a global reach. Our collaboration is based on our shared vision of the future of storytelling and utilizes the unique talents of both companies.”
Nexon president Owen Mahoney added, “AGBO and Nexon share a fundamental vision for thrilling global audiences with content that spans multiple platforms and markets.”
Nick van Dyk, the head of Nexon Film & TV, went on to say that film and TV extensions of video games are known to “drive higher engagement and longevity for game franchises…”
“We are thrilled to work with AGBO to design universes that, from the outset, are intended to coexist across games, film, TV, merchandising, and other experiences,” van Dyk, who previously worked at Activision, said in a statement.
With its 38% ownership of ABGO, Nexon becomes the film studio’s largest individual shareholder, while van Dyk will join ABGO’s board of directors. With the $400 million investment, ABGO now has a valuation of around $1.1 billion.
Joe and Anthony Russo, along with writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, are the writers and directors of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame, which together have grossed more than $7 billion at the box office.
ABGO is also behind the Netflix movie Extraction, which stars Chris Hemsworth and is getting a sequel. The company is also making the thriller The Gray Man starring Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling, as well as an ambitious TV series called Citadel for Amazon.
Source: Gamespot
