Alibaba Sells Lingxi Games to Trustar Capital for Up to $2 Billion

Alibaba Group has reached a formal agreement to sell its entire stake in the Guangzhou-based game developer Lingxi Games to Trustar Capital, an Asia-focused private equity firm formerly known as CITIC Capital. While an internal memo did not disclose the final price, reports on the valuation vary between a minimum of $1.5 billion and more than $2 billion.

The divestment is part of a broader corporate reorganization led by CEO Eddie Wu to streamline non-core assets. This strategy includes the recent sales of Sun Art and Intime, allowing the company to redirect capital toward cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Alibaba has committed $53 billion to these sectors and set an internal target of $100 billion in AI-related revenue over the next five years.

Lingxi Games, the creator of Three Kingdoms: Strategy Edition, has faced a period of transition including a 2024 management reshuffle and a stalled 2023 fundraising effort caused by proposed Chinese gaming regulations. CEO Zhou Bingshu confirmed that he and his current management team will continue to lead the studio following the ownership change. Trustar Capital stated it intends to support the existing leadership to facilitate the studio's next stage of development.