中資財團44億美元收購賭博類遊戲開發商

HONG KONG — Gambling may be illegal in mainland China, but that is not stopping Chinese tech investors from betting on casino-style mobile games.

香港——賭博在中國大陸或許是非法的，但這並不能阻止中國科技行業的投資者押注於賭場類手機遊戲。

In the most recent example in a growing trend of big deals for smartphone-based games, a consortium of Chinese investors led by the game company Shanghai Giant Network Technology said in a statement on Saturday that it would pay $4.4 billion to Caesars Interactive Entertainment for Playtika, its social and mobile games unit. Caesars Interactive is controlled by the owners of Caesars Palace and other casinos in Las Vegas and elsewhere.

在智能手機遊戲領域，大宗併購交易正呈現日益增多之勢，最新的一個例子是，由上海巨人網絡科技有限公司領銜的中國投資者組成的一個財團於上週六發表聲明稱，將斥資44億美元收購美國凱撒互動娛樂(Caesars Interactive Entertainment)旗下社交和手機遊戲部門Playtika。凱撒互動娛樂受控於拉斯維加斯等地的凱撒宮(Caesars Palace)等賭場的所有者。

The Chinese consortium — which also includes Yunfeng Capital, the private equity fund of Jack Ma, the chairman of Alibaba — said it would allow Playtika, based in Israel, to continue to operate independently. The all-cash deal, which is expected to close by the end of the year, does not include Caesars Interactive’s World Series of Poker game or its other real-money game businesses.

該財團包括阿里巴巴董事局主席馬雲的私募股權基金雲峯資本，表示將讓總部位於以色列的Playtika繼續獨立運營。這筆全現金交易預計將於今年年底完成，凱撒互動娛樂的遊戲《世界撲克巡迴賽》(World Series of Poker)以及其他真錢遊戲業務不在交易範圍內。

In recent years, the Montreal-based Caesars Interactive has built Playtika, which it acquired in 2011, into a major player in the world of smartphone-based casino-style games. While many of Playtika’s games, like Slotomania and Bingo Blitz, are free to play, users can also pay for virtual currency and items to enhance play. The virtual currency used in Playtika games will continue to be not exchangeable for real money, according to the statement.

總部位於蒙特利爾的凱撒互動娛樂於2011年收購了Playtika，近幾年來已經將其打造成了賭場類手機遊戲領域的一個主要參與者。Playtika的許多遊戲，比如《Slotomania》和《Bingo Blitz》，都可以免費玩，但爲了提升能力，玩家也可以購買虛擬貨幣和物品。根據前述聲明，Playtika旗下游戲中所用的虛擬貨幣將依舊不能兌換真錢。

While it is not clear when or whether Chinese regulators will accept gambling-style games, the Chinese investment is an example of how internet companies in China often invest first and then worry about legal restrictions. It is also a sign that investors are willing to pay increasingly large sums for smartphone games, which have proved to be one of the best ways to make money from users.

目前尚不清楚，中國監管機構將在何時接受、或者是否會接受賭博類遊戲。但中國互聯網公司常常先投資，再去考慮法律方面的限制，中國財團的這次投資就是一個例證。它還表明，投資者願意把越來越大手筆的投資投向手機遊戲，因爲事實證明，這類遊戲是從用戶那裏賺錢的最佳工具之一。

In June, the Chinese internet giant Tencent said it would pay $8.6 billion for a controlling stake in the Finnish game maker Supercell, which makes the popular smartphone game Clash of Clans. Late last year, the American video game powerhouse Activision Blizzard said it would pay about $6 billion for King Digital, maker of Candy Crush.

今年6月，中國互聯網巨頭騰訊表示，將斥資86億美元控股芬蘭遊戲開發商Supercell，廣受歡迎的智能手機遊戲《部落衝突》(Clash of Clans)就是由後者推出的。去年年底，美國視頻遊戲巨頭動視暴雪公司(Activision Blizzard)稱，將以60億美元收購《糖果傳奇》(Candy Crush)的開發商國王數碼娛樂公司(King Digital)。

While social networking apps may be more popular, mobile games like Clash of Clans and Candy Crush are some of the most profitable apps around. In China, where playing games on a smartphone can often stand in for other entertainment, like going to a movie, technology companies have competed intensely to lure players and the spare change those players are willing to spend on games.

社交網絡應用或許更流行一些，但《部落衝突》和《糖果傳奇》之類的手機遊戲纔是最賺錢的應用。在中國，人們常常用玩遊戲來替代看電影之類的其他娛樂。爲了吸引玩家以及他們樂於花在遊戲上的閒錢，科技公司一直在開展激烈的競爭。

For Shanghai Giant Network Technology, acquiring Playtika will also extend its reach beyond China. Other Chinese tech companies have used deals to reach players around the world. Among them is Tencent, which has gained control over internationally well-known games like League of Legends.

對上海巨人網絡科技有限公司而言，收購Playtika還有助於打入海外市場。其他中國科技公司也正通過收購交易接觸世界各地的玩家。騰訊就是其中之一，它已經取得了對一些國際知名遊戲的控制權，比如《英雄聯盟》(League of Legends)。

Last year, one of Caesars Interactive’s parent companies, Caesars Entertainment, filed for bankruptcy protection. It has been working to get creditor backing for a plan to restructure.

去年，凱撒互動娛樂的母公司之一凱撒娛樂申請了破產保護。它正致力於讓債權人支持一項重組計劃。