Morrison Foerster (MoFo) and Zhong Lun Law Firm have advised American toy and family entertainment company Mattel on securing full ownership of mobile game studio Mattel163 after acquiring the 50% equity interest from its joint venture partner NetEase.
In 2017, Mattel163 was established as a joint venture between NetEase and Mattel with a portfolio including the mobile version of popular card game UNO! The transaction values Mattel163 at USD318 million, with a purchase price of USD159 million for the acquired stake.
MoFo advised on US, Hong Kong and PRC law, with the team drawn from the Hong Kong and Shanghai offices. The team was jointly led by private equity and M&A partner Marcia Ellis along with managing partner and M&A and technology transactions partner Sun Chuan. Tax partner Matthew Lau also provided support.
Zhong Lun provided PRC legal services, with a team from its Shanghai and Beijing offices. The project team was led by partners Anthony Zhao and Luke Zhang. Partners Frank Jiang, Mark Gao and Jeffrey Liu advised, respectively, on antitrust, tax and data compliance issues, with non-equity partner Lindsay Zhang also participating.
Headquartered in California, Mattel owns iconic toy brands including Barbie, Fisher-Price and Thomas & Friends. In a press release, the company said: “Acquiring full control of Mattel163 meaningfully advances Mattel’s digital games business, and will add significant development, publishing and digital customer acquisition expertise.”
Mattel’s chairman and CEO Ynon Kreiz added: “Our vision is to extend physical play to the virtual world by creating digital experiences and games based on Mattel IP that drive sustained engagement for fans of all ages. Acquiring full control of Mattel163 does exactly that.”
