Jagex Sale Has Not Gone Through Yet, Court Documents Reveal

The sale of Jagex happened a year ago, and then it didn't. Then, last week, it finally did – or did it?

MMOBomb has obtained evidence that the transfer of Jagex from Shanghai Fukong to Platinum Fortune, announced by Jagex and widely reported last week, has not actually occurred yet. On April 30, a “stop notice” was filed in an English court halting the transfer of shares of Jagex, and one of the companies that was initially linked to the sale last year has provided additional information regarding the deal and its lack of closure.

Last year, Platinum Fortune entered into a partnership with private equity company Plutos Sama Holdings, Inc. to purchase Jagex, and appeared to be close to closing the deal in July, as described in this article on the Plutos Sama site. That deal fell through, for reasons as yet unknown, and the two companies ended their partnership afterwards.

A press release issued by Plutos Sama last week re-iterated that it is no longer associated with Platinum Fortune and alleges that, "as stated in the papers filed on behalf of Shanghai Fukong's owners in support of the [Stop Notice], Shanghai Fukong's owners 'have not yet seen evidence that Platinum Fortune LP has validly acquired the title to Jagex's shares pursuant to the Jagex SPA, including any proof of payment pursuant to the terms of the Jagex SPA.'"

In effect, Plutos Sama's statement alleges that Platinum Fortune and Macarthur Holdings have not demonstrated that they possess the funds – reported at $530 million – to actually purchase Jagex, so the deal has been temporarily halted and Shanghai Fukong retains possession of Jagex.

Matters can now progress in one of two ways. If there are outstanding issues regarding payment, Platinum Fortune can address them and the deal can go through as initially announced. If that doesn't happen, then Shanghai Fukong will retain possession of Jagex and, in all likelihood, look for a new prospective buyer. For its part, Plutos Sama said in its press release that it "continues to work with the actual representatives and owners of Shanghai Fukong with respect to PSH's proposed independent direct purchase of Jagex Limited."

We reached out to Jagex for comment on this matter and did not receive a response before press time. We also attempted to reach Macarthur Fortune and Platinum Fortune but could not find any valid contact information. However, Platinum Fortune did issue a statement -- possibly in response to Plutos Sama's press release or our private query -- alleging that:

1. Platinum Fortune LP, a fund managed by Macarthur Fortune Holding LLC, has completed the acquisition of the British video game developer and publisher Jagex in April 2020. Jagex is now a wholly-owned subsidiary and under the full control of Platinum Fortune.

2. The acquisition of Jagex by Platinum Fortune was executed in accordance with the contracts negotiated between the two parties, the terms are fair and reasonable, the transaction process has complied with applicable regulatory rules, and the outcome is legal and valid.

3. Accordingly, the People’s Court of Jing’An District of Shanghai ruled on April 16, 2020, denying the debtors’ application for injunction and confirming the legitimacy of the Jagex acquisition by Platinum Fortune.

4. Neither Macarthur Fortune Holding LLC nor Platinum Fortune has received a Stop Order from the British Court.

The fourth point, at the least, is clearly false, as demonstrated by the stop notice that MMOBomb has seen. (Though perhaps it's a semantic argument -- "stop notice" vs. "stop order.")

We will continue to update this story as new details emerge.

(Update, 5/5: We received a brief statement from Platinum Fortune, through a Jagex representative, after publication that contains essentially the same statements made above.)

(Update, 5/11: The arguments above, which were available on the Macarthur Fortune web site, have since been removed.