Leaping to Be a Global Entertainment Company Using Its IP

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Nexon, one of South Korea's leading game publishers, has become the largest shareholder of AGBO, a production company founded by the Russo brothers, who are famous for directing the film Avengers. Nexon invested $ 400 million (about 530 billion won) earlier this year and recently invested $ 100 million (about 130 billion won) more to secure a 49.21% stake in AGBO with $500 million (about 670 billion won) in total. As a result, Nexon became the single largest shareholder, surpassing the existing largest shareholder, AGBO’s Board of Directors. 

“Nexon has an unrivaled ability to maintain its popularity by developing large IPs and serving markets around the world for decades. AGBO and Nexon will share a fundamental vision for thrilling global audiences with content that spans multiple platforms and markets,” Nexon CEO Owen Mahoney said in January during the company’s announcement of its first investment of $400 million. 

AGBO has Rousseau brothers, who directed 4 Marvel films, including Avengers: Endgame and Captain America: Civil War, Scriptwriter Stephen McFeely, etc. Currently, AGBO is working with partners such as Netflix, NBC Universal, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+, A24, and Roku to produce video streaming services and movie television content for theater distribution. 

At the time of Nexon's first investment in January, AGBO's Rousseau brothers said, “AGBO is driven by creatives who aspire to work at the universe scale. 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 is known to discuss several projects with AGBO, such as making movies or TV series using game intellectual property (IP) and expanding its game business based on external IP.